


Final Fantasy CMLXXXVII

by SStickperson



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Characters as Gods, Crystals, Ifrit - Freeform, Ixion - Freeform, Job Classes, Leviathan - Freeform, Saving the World, Shiva - Freeform, Summoning, valefor - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 28,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27994410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SStickperson/pseuds/SStickperson
Summary: Cloud is the last of the natural magic-wielders, an outcast among the monks that train in Nibelhiem. So when he discovers a crystal of ice telling him that he is the one needed to free the gods that are trapped within the crystals from their bedtime stories... well, he reluctantly goes on the journey. Tifa's the one that ends up dragging him out to meet destiny.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Meant to be a traditional, old-fashioned Final Fantasy mash-up with the characters of Final Fantasy VII. Lemme know what you think, even if you think that it's just ridiculous and that I should stop. XD Thank you!

He knew that he spent too much time alone. He knew it; his mother knew it; his best friend knew it, and everyone in the village preferred it that way. They were, mostly, a village of monks. Even the women had muscles as big as the men. Most spent their days in mediation, learning to fight with their fists and their feet and occasionally claws that were fashioned from monster parts. They grew up under the regime, and he _hated_ it. He hated it because it made his own inadequacies _stockpile_ on one another. He knew that he wasn’t as good as he should be for the years and amount of training that he put in. He was far better with a knife, dull though it may be (and better for survival, too). He wasn’t a monk. While he could definitely hold his own against a normal fiend, whatever beasts that Midgar faced… apparently he didn’t show the appropriate signs of competence in order to be allowed to “graduate.”

His fingers clenched around the smooth stone that shimmered under the sunlight. It gave off a faint green tint, the long-forgotten promise of the thrill of dark magic, and he used it as a calming point for himself. Another reason why he sucked at being a monk: he calmed himself using a physical object. There was no way that he could be a monk. Not like this. Instead, he found himself drawn to the animals and fiends that lived around their village. He could understand the hatred that they held inside of themselves, why those souls never found solace and came back to terrorize the living. He got the feeling that he would be joining their ranks when he eventually kicked the bucket and left this miserable world.

He gave up on his dreams of being as powerful as his village mates a long time ago. Down south were _heroes_ , who served in the army of Midgar and who pretty much staved off the ever-encroaching threat of the fog. It had been generations since the fog rolled in, enveloping cities and towns, fiends and friends falling asleep where they stood. Time stopped when the fog arrived. Midgar was one of the only cities that he knew of that wasn’t awash with it. With the mountains surrounding Nibelheim, they avoided the fog, but the larger city built walls big enough to keep it from surrounding them. They built walls from coast to mountain range, and they flourished despite the threat.

It was the leaders of Midgar who led the charge against the nightmarish monsters that one day appeared. They thought that the creatures were all asleep.

The fiends from the fog were worse than any imaginable nightmare.

So they built the walls higher and stronger. They sent those that they called “SOLDIERS” to combat the fiends, able to step into the fog for limited amounts of time with the enhancements that they received. It was rumored that they were built on the DNA of the gods who were cast from the heavens. He _idolized_ those guys. He wanted to be as useful as they were. They kept the fiends back, kept their small part of the world safe, and kept the fog from rolling in. Nibelheim sent their monks to undergo the SOLDIER transformation and assist on the front lines.

They still didn’t know what caused the fog.

His hand clenched around the stone in his hand, the thrill of darkness skittering over his fingers as he hung his head.

“You really shouldn’t spend all your time brooding, you know,” came the voice from behind him, causing him to jerk to see who was there. “It’s bad for the complexion.”

“Tifa,” he murmured softly, the corners of his lips twitching up. Tifa, his first and only friend in the village, plopped down beside him and smiled.

“Whatcha thinking, Cloud?”

“The cave,” he commented, trying to throw her off from his initial musings of how much he hated their village. “ _Especially_ ,” he continued when he noticed her gearing up to argue, “since you’re going to Midgar soon.”

Whatever she said died in her throat before it could give rise to real concerns. She slated to go and assist in the Midgar frontlines soon. She looked to where he pointed with a lazy finger. It didn’t matter—she never saw the entrance the way that he could feel it calling to him. He knew it was there, up in the mountains, having visited once a long time ago and being intimidated by the yawning entrance. There had to be fiends in there, right? They roamed outside the village and even in the mountains. Fiends were everywhere these days. He could prove his own strength, though he didn’t know what good it would do. There wouldn’t be any way to convince the elders that he should be sent to Midgar instead of staying here and learning his mother’s trade of tailoring.

“An adventure, huh?” she asked, sounding amused. “And how do you propose that we get there? I’m not walking that far. I haven’t had the will to go exploring quite like you.”

Cloud hummed, rising and stretching before looking at Tifa and holding out a hand. She laughed, taking his hand bouncing up. He glanced at the mountains, then looked at his friend.

“Chocobo?” he offered.

“Trickster?” she gasped, looking delighted. “I love Trickster!”

He nodded, bringing his fingers up to his mouth and whistling. It rang loud and true over rocky area that they called him, and in a few seconds, they could see a pure white streak approaching. It screeched happily, dirt and grass kicking up behind it, and almost didn’t manage to stop before reaching Cloud. He let out a soft grunt when Trickster headbutted him in the stomach, scratching the brilliant white plumage. It pulled back, warbling happily and rocking from side-to-side. Tifa giggled and moved over, rubbing the bird down and making it even happier.

“Ready?” he asked, and Trickster sat down to be mounted at a simple gesture of his hand.

Tifa sat on the chocobo as Cloud sat behind her. He pressed her forward, into the feathers, holding on tight with his thighs as the chocobo rose. He could feel her delighted gasp, and he patted Trickster’s neck.

“The cave, Trick,” he said softly, and Trickster chirped.

Powerful legs started moving beneath them, the chilly wind of the mountains whipping around them as they began flying over the terrain. This was what he loved, more than anything, that Trickster was always near enough to hear his whistle, that it listened to only him. No one else could call Trickster to their side. It was enough to make the others hate him and his blizzard-born chocobo more, but there was only so much that they can do to make his life worse. There were a few creatures that often heard his whistle, now that he thought about it. There were bandersnatches and even a chimera or two that would occasionally come out when he called to them in anger. It wasn’t much in terms of friends, but at least he had something that would keep him company at night.

While Cloud was lost in thought, Trickster managed to start the trek up the side of the mountain.

Trickster was his greatest find. Out in the middle of a snowstorm, he ventured to find something for his mother to eat. The village didn’t like her. No, no, that wasn’t right. The village didn’t like _him_ , and by extension, her. She did well enough as a tailor, enough to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table most days. He was a little skinny, and so was she, but that was no matter. They had each other, and _that_ was what mattered. It was the only thing that kept him from running away from the miserable village. He might not be the best monk, but he could hunt at least. Sometimes, though, little things like exploring the area around them helped to settle his mind when things became too much. Trickster was always at his side, or the ever-helpful Ixion.

He snorted against Tifa’s neck.

Helpful.

That was one word for Ixion.

He blinked as the wind stopped whipping through his already-messy hair, looking to see that Trickster stood before a large, pitch-black cave entrance. He wasn’t sure that he would be prepared for whatever came their way, and he slid off his fearless steed and helped Tifa down entirely out of instinct. They stood together in front of the cave.

“You know, I think that I know why you never bothered to explore on your own,” she said softly, peering into the dense wall darkness. “Is Trickster coming with?”

“Maybe Ixion,” he suggested. “Not Trickster.”

“Ooo, don’t let Ixion hear that.”

Cloud covered a snort of laughter with a cough, and he turned to look at the chocobo, smiling gently as he dismissed it. It warbled happily and started walking off. He turned back toward the entrance.

“So… Ixion?”

“Let’s… save him for if we really need him. He’s more likely to come when you need him, right?” Tifa asked, stepping in front of him as she led him into the cave.

“Hope so,” he muttered under his breath as he jogged a few paces to walk beside Tifa.

“So… where do we start?” she asked after they stood in the opening of the cave, and Cloud shrugged.

He never explored a cave before. He walked beside her as they moved, helping keep an eye out for anything. It was quiet, still, and empty. Frosty rocks and dirt crunched beneath their feet as they padded around, and the farther in they walked, the more ice they seemed to find lining the walls. Was—did the ice _glow_? It seemed to be glowing as it cast uncanny shadows over the stone and ice. They searched, looking into all of the nooks and crannies for fiends and treasures and mostly fiends to test their mettle against. Surely there was something here. It was almost… unnerving. There was no telling what was going on. How could they possibly have no fiends living here? Fiends were… supposed to be everywhere.

“Hey, Cloud, look at this.”

He snapped from his uneasy speculations to look at Tifa. She was standing in front of a treasure chest, looking down at it. He moved over beside her, looking down at it. She looked at him.

“Should we open it?”

He hummed, narrowing his eyes before giving the chest a swift boot. It splintered under his boot, old as it appeared.

“Well… I don’t know what this is, but I look terrible in it, and it looks like it might fit you?”

He looked up at her. She was holding a light blue robe in her hands. There seemed to be crushed ice woven into it, glimmering threads of white. It was gorgeous, true. He cocked his head, reaching out with a single hand and touching it. It was soft, too, softer than he would have thought.

“It… would fit me?” he asked, frowning.

She reached out to give it to him. He took it carefully, frowning deeper as he held it up. He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. Still, he trusted Tifa, and there was nothing inherently _wrong_ with the clothing, so he tugged it on, surprised at the way that it fit him. There was nothing wrong with it, and the robe itself was actually really lightweight. Tifa laughed playfully at how well it hugged his body, and she reached out, pulling on the tie that was hanging at the waist. She tied it firmly around him, helping him adjust the collar and the sleeves.

“There!” she said, smiling as she stepped back. “It looks like it was made for you.” She chuckled. “And it highlights the blue in your eyes!”

Cloud couldn’t stop the small smile that tugged at his expression. “So now what?”

“We keep exploring! This is more fun than anything that we had back in the training grounds. They should take us out more often into the mountains to train.”

Cloud nodded, letting her lead him away. There was so much left to explore, and he couldn’t help but willfully go along farther into the cave. They found a pair of boots that better fit him than Tifa, a deep black leather with soft soles that felt like heaven compared to the thin crap that he wore before. There was no way that he was going to keep his old ones, tossing them aside and leaving them where they fell. He had a second-hand pair, the only ones that his mother could get him. Most of his clothes were patched and mended. Despite being a tailor, they really couldn’t afford much. No one wanted to really associate with the weirdos—the boy who wasn’t any good as a monk or the woman who bore him. He was lucky that Tifa was so kind.

But these? These were nice. The leather of the boots was soft under his touch, the woven fabric cool under his fingertips. These were new. These were _his_. It was… nice to finally have something new, something that he could work with, something that he called his own instead of hand-me-downs. They found a hat, as blue as the robes, but Tifa snatched it and put it on her head. They laughed at how much it clashed with the rest of her outfit, but that was good enough for him.

“It would just flatten your hair, Cloud. Your chocobo hair makes everything better.”

He flushed, sending a slightly-irritated look her way. “Watch it, or I’ll take the hat.”

“I’d like to see you try!” she laughed and took off, leaving him to tear after her.

They ran through the rest of the caves, unconcerned without any fiends running amok. There wasn’t much in the cave, just lots of dead ends and windy passages. There were only the three chests in the cave, the boots, the hat, and the robe, but that was more than they expected. Eventually, they found themselves standing outside a large cave opening, staring into it. It was impenetrable blackness, even with the glowing— _glowing!_ —ice on either side like torches.

“Do you think that there’s a big fiend through this door?” she asked, turning to look at Cloud.

He frowned, humming gently as he studied it. “Don’t big baddies usually have fiends to boss around?”

“I… is that a thing?”

“It is in every story that I overhear, old or new.”

Tifa hummed, looking around curiously. Surely there would be something interesting, right? “Then… I say that we go in, if there’s nothing to worry about. Besides, you and I _both_ know that you can fight. The only reason why they’re not letting you go to Midgar is because they don’t like you.”

“Should we call in Ixion?” he asked, cocking his head. “As back up? Even if we can both fight…”

“Normally, I’d say yes, but…” she paused. “He’s just… so…”

“ _Ridiculous?”_

Tifa laughed. “Yeah… but it might not be a bad idea, just in case.”

Cloud sighed, closing his eyes. “All right, _Ixion_ , if you’ll listen, we could use your help.”

He focused inward and prayed that the man would hear it. Given that he always seemed to be around, lingering just close enough to hear him when he called out, Reno was probably nearby. The loud clap of lightning that struck just behind him and made him jump out of his skin said yes. There was laughter, way too amused and absolutely infuriating, and he had about two seconds before there was a heavy arm around his shoulders.

“Yo, it’s way too much fun to do that to you. You _never_ expect it.”

“I _always_ expect it, you fucking piece of shit,” Cloud snarled, shoving him away despite the man’s laughter. “You’re just a fucking _asshole_.”

“There’s not even anyone here to fry with some lightning,” came the disappointed sigh, the soft sound of electricity crackling between fingers as he looked around.

Cloud scowled at him as he looked at him. Golden decorations were woven in an electric red shock of hair. He had a long, light-grey fur collar draped over his shoulders, a dark grey chest piece with gilded edges that exposed plenty of stomach before grey trousers covered his legs, hidden behind light-grey, furred greaves. His boots had considerable, thick heels. A light-grey pelt was wrapped around his waist, and he had fur vambraces that matched.

“I changed my mind, Tifa. Ixion can fuck right off.”

The man looked around, delighted as where he was registered. “Oh! Hey! I know this cave! Finally, man! I’ve been waiting for you to get your sorry ass in gear and come up here.” He looked at the scowl on Cloud’s face and rolled his eyes. “Don’t go giving me sass, man. Blah blah blah, you’ve been getting ready and the prophecy and such _shit_. Anyway, get going, Cloud!”

He didn’t even have time to react before Ixion was shoving him through the opening, and he yelped as he felt himself falling. He heard Tifa calling out for him, and as he landed on his ass, the entire room around him exploded in light. There were a few seconds where he was covering his eyes to adjust, and when he finally opened his eyes, he scrambled to his feet. The door was _gone_.

He frantically looked at the wall that he fell through, hands trailing over every crack and crevice, trying to find the edge of the door. It was _gone_ , completely gone, and even looking up the wall showed nothing. It was an enclosed cave of ice, sealed off and nothing but ice everywhere. He was stuck. He might not be the best at hand-to-hand, but he could damn well defend himself. With a deep inhale, he turned around, handing traveling down into his pocket to rub with the stone that he tucked away. Now was not a time to panic. He needed to stay calm. As he took the time to study his surroundings, however, he realized that this was not anywhere normal. The entire room was covered in ice. Lights twisted and flickered, brilliant blue and fiery dancing behind the see-through sheets of ice. There was a rough path beneath his feet that shimmered under the blue fire in the walls. At the end of the room, a large blue crystal was turning and giving off a dazzling light show with all the extra fires.

He frowned as he centered himself, fingers curling around his comfort stone. What was he going to do? There was nowhere to go. The crystal was rather alluring, though, even if it was probably a trap. Still, there was nothing else to do, right? He moved forward a few paces, tense and at the ready to spring into action at any point in time. He slowly approached the crystal, eventually standing in front of it. It dazzled and twinkled in front of him. Slowly, he reached out with a frown. He paused right before touching it, a strange sort of calling to activate it, and then pulled back his hand, looking around and narrowing his eyes. This had to be a trap, no? Something this stupidly obvious?

A few more minutes of searching for a way out, and he reached out to brush his fingers over the cold crystal. He immediately leapt into a defensive position when the crystal shattered, enveloped in light for a few seconds, and then he did _not_ make a startled noise when a face appeared in front of him. Their skin was pale, their eyes a fathomless ice blue that seemed to be searching for something as Cloud backed away from it. Long, dark-blue hair was spilling over their shoulders, a single blue dot resting between their eyes.

“So,” they breathed—the person’s breath was _cold_ even from this distance, “you’re the new summoner? I see you got my gifts.”

Cloud narrowed his eyes as he crept back, crouched defensively. The person was dressed in an extraordinarily woven cloak, wrapped tightly around them, and they were carefully looking him over. He wasn’t going to let the person get the first swing. No, he would kick their ass if they tried anything funny.

“Who are you?”

The person straightened up, somewhere between male and female, and Cloud couldn’t really tell until they pulled the cloak from their shoulders. Though well-toned with muscle, there were no boobs. So… a man. A he? The clothing, though… his hair was pulled back into a ponytail on the top of his head. There was a silver-gilded chest… piece… thing with a cross of blue fabric covering where his pecs were. There were silver bracelets on his upper arms, with a silver necklace of thinly-spun silver. He had a bellybutton piercing, and his… well, he was wearing almost nothing on his lower half but a bikini bottom with more of the silvery-vines wrapping around and attached to flowing blue cloth. He wrapped the cloak around Cloud’s shoulders, looking him over carefully.

“Call me Tseng, though most of your kind know me as Shiva,” came the smooth voice, and Cloud straightened as the man looked down at himself, his brow furrowing and looking rather appalled at what he was wearing, murmuring, “They couldn’t even give me proper clothing.”

Cloud squared his shoulders, narrowing his eyes as he adjusted the cloak. “Right. You’re a god.”

“I suppose that your kind revere us as them, yes. Welcome to my humble prison,” he responded, gesturing to the area around them before meeting the man’s gaze. “I’m glad to see that someone finally came. I was not expecting a summoner more prepared as a monk to stand before me, however.”

“What?” That nearly broke him. What kind of crack was this… this person on? Summoning? Here? With _him_? That was bullshit. There hadn’t been a summoner since before the fog, according to the legends, and he wasn’t going to let this… man… thing tell him otherwise. “That school of magic has been dead for centuries. All magic is found in Midgar near the fog.”

Tseng didn’t look impressed. “Did Reno not…?” The god sighed heavily, arms crossing over his chest and shaking his head. “Cloud, allow me to give you some knowledge that you should have already known. Courtesy of Reno.”

“Reno?”

Tseng looked up, blinking at him, lips drawn thin. Then, he sighed, turning to walk back to where a throne now sat instead of a crystal. He slouched over in it, resting his head in his hand, legs crossing almost like a woman. Cloud crossed his arms, giving… whoever this was a chance to explain himself.

“Reno has… red hair.” _Oh,_ was this Tseng-person implying who he thought that he was? “Rather—”

“Irritating?”

A heavy sigh. “Testing.”

“Loud?”

“Offensive.”

Cloud couldn’t help the snort. “Ixion? He’s no god.”

Tseng could only give him an apologetic look.

“You’re shitting me.”

Blue eyes closed in defeat. A grim smile twitched at the god’s lips. “I’m so sorry.”

Cloud growled. He wasn’t sure that he believed this… this Tseng. Shiva? Whatever the fuck his name was. He didn’t _feel_ malicious, but that didn’t mean anything. He sat flat on his ass, resting on one hand behind him and staring at the blue man. There was no way this guy was a _god_. Not in a stupid outfit like that. He stared at him with suspicion. So Tseng was allegedly the god Shiva, and now his own mock-version of Ixion (which he named after the god of electricity) was actually supposed to be the true god of electricity? He was calling bullshit.

“So… what were you going to tell me?”

“You’re suddenly willing to listen?”

“I have _literally_ no escape, given that _your Reno_ is the one that shoved me in here.”

“My apologies.” He sighed, straightening up in the throne and looking at the other as if he were a child. He bristled under the look. “You know history, yes? The history of the crystals?”

“Yes, they’re bedtime stories.”

He thought that Tseng muttered a disbelieving _“Bedtime stories?_ ” under his breath, but he didn’t draw attention to it. Hopefully, the faster he listened to whatever this weirdo’s explanation was, the sooner that he’d wake up from this awful dream.

“Well, the crystals are quite real,” Tseng growled, looking up at him, frowning. “And they’ve been around for as long as humans have known this land. We reside within the crystals, the gods of the elements that you worship, bound until awakened by the next summoner.”

“Summoning _and_ magic mostly died after the fog rolled over the land. What little we have left is usually only found as really rare materia from the bodies of the fiends that the SOLDIERs kill. No one can cast without materia.” He scowled when Tseng looked almost _too_ calm for what he said. “What?”

“I’m going to kill Reno. His job was to prepare you.”

“Prepare me for what?” he snarled, rising.

Tseng rose, walking down and standing in front of him. Cloud let his eyes drift over the “god’s” body. He was so well-built, though. He had to admire that slender kind of muscle. He stepped back when Tseng got too close and adjusted the cloak around his shoulders.

“You are the summoner that will help free us from our binds. Many years ago, we were taken captive, bound to these crystals, and have waited for many years to find someone to let us out. There have been those that have found us before, but they lacked the strength to make the appropriate journey.”

“And so you think that I’m going to cure all your problems?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and so, _so_ done with this shit.

“I think that you’re going to help us take care of them all.” He sighed, putting his hands on his hips. “As you are the first to be able to activate the crystal and see _this_.” He gestured with a single hand. “Most times, your kind aren’t capable of activating the crystal and all my power.”

Cloud was not impressed. This sounded more like a fever dream. What the fuck kind of bullshit was this… _creature_? Maybe there _were_ monsters in the cave, ones that had poisons and other kinds of nasties. Got the drop on Tifa and him. They passed out in the cave. They were dying.

“I see that you do not believe me,” came the soft comment, sighing heavily. “Perhaps you need some time to sleep on it.”

“What? No, I need—”

It was the last thing that he said before sleep pulled him under, the magic wrapping around him tightly. He woke the next morning feeling warm and cozy. He had vague memories of the night before, something about a beautiful, young… person? Man? Woman? Someone visiting him in his dreams. There were crystals and flames that didn’t melt ice. He had the most messed up dreams sometimes. He blinked, rubbing his eyes and letting his hands fall at his sides, staring at the wooden planks above his head. He and his mother didn’t have much. He added in the small loft that he slept in himself. Their kitchen, their living room, their bedrooms, their bathroom… it was all one small room, hardly big enough for the two of them, but Cloud maintained it as best that he could. He could hear his mother below him, and he turned just enough to look over the edge of his little sleeping area.

“Mom?” he asked, blinking sleepily and yawning.

“Oh! Stormcloud! You’re awake!” she chirped. “I’m glad that you made it home safely last night. You really need to thank your new friend.”

He shivered as he pulled his blanket off, sliding down the small ladder that he built to help him. “It’s cold.”

“You should look outside,” she said, giving him a concerned look as he sat on her bed to watch her finish cooking. He glanced out the solitary window that they had, eyebrows raising at the half-inch of ice adhering to the glass. “We had an ice storm while we were sleeping. Completely out of season! I’m assuming that the elders are looking for reasons as to why it happened.”

“More firewood?” he asked as she pushed a small bowl of porridge into his hands and sat beside him on her bed.

“I don’t think so. We still have some of the wood from this winter left,” she said, blowing on her own bowl. “But it’s certainly going to be chilly for a while. You should probably put something under that coat of yours. I don’t remember you getting that coat.”

Cloud hummed, looking confused, then glanced down. He was dressed in a fine blue robe that seemed to shimmer under the firelight of their little house. Using the hand holding his spoon, he reached down to touch it, eyebrows rising at the soft texture.

“I… don’t remember getting it either…” he said softly, running his fingers back and forth over the material for a few seconds before noticing his boots. “I don’t remember these, either.”

“They’re very nice boots,” his mother commented, and he scooted to lean against her, knowing full well that she was blaming herself for not being able to get him something that nice on her own.

“They are, but yours are more comfortable,” he murmured as he kept eating.

She chuckled. “Oh, you don’t have to lie, Cloud.”

“You know that I wouldn’t lie to you.”

She gave him a small smile, almost pained, as if she were trying to believe that he could like the older clothing that she traded for.

“You’re still the best,” he said, smiling gently at her. “Even if I accept gifts from strangers that I don’t know and can’t remember.”

That made her snort a laugh, and he chuckled, the rest of their meal finished in silence. As he was cleaning the dishes, there was a loud knocking at the door.

“Cloud! Cloud, you gotta see this!”

He paused, looking at the door. His mother answered it, smiling brilliantly at Tifa. He peeked, noticing that she was standing quite a bit taller than normal, and only then realized the several inches of ice compact beneath her feet. She wore heavy robes traditionally brought out only in the depths of winter, when the ice and the snow from the mountains surrounding them struck and left them using a network of tunnels underground to attend training.

“Come on in, dear! There’s no point in freezing out there! Goodness, has it gotten even _chillier_?”

“It sure feels like it!” Tifa announced as she stepped into their tiny home. “Cloud, you _have_ to see the ice out there!”

“I noticed through the door,” he commented. “I’m happy to stay in today until we need firewood.”

She laughed. “ _Cloud_. You don’t need to stay inside.”

“You shouldn’t,” his mother threw out. “You know just as much as I do that if you stay inside all day, you’re going to go crazy.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Mom…”

“Once you’re done with the dishes, go outside and have some fun with Tifa,” she crooned, and he sighed as he rinsed off the last dish and dried it, hanging the towel on the rack before gently putting the bowls away.

“Mom,” he said, moving over when she reached out and giving him a hug. “I’ll pick up firewood on the way back.”

She smiled, ushering him out the door. He knew that his mother meant well, wanted him to have some kind of life outside of their poverty. He drew the cloak tighter around him, tying it shut and tucking his knife into the belt. He hummed as he looked around. The entire ground was covered in several inches of icy snow that glinted blue instead of white, almost blinding in the twinkling sunlight. How did none of them hear this roll in last night?

Or was that why he dreamed of crystals and ice?

He blinked as Tifa moved beside him, shrinking into her heavy robes. “I don’t know if it’s ever been this bitterly cold before.”

He raised an eyebrow. “It’s really not that bad out here.”

“Are you kidding? These robes aren’t enough to keep all the chill out. I’m not even sure how you’re just wearing that flimsy thing!”

Cloud looked down at his arms, observing the material and then shrugging. He didn’t know what was going on. It wasn’t cold to him. He could see the others around the village dressed as if it were mid-winter. He frowned as the ice crunched beneath his feet, and he stepped forward a few steps. He didn’t get far before he saw the elders gathered in the square, most of the village there, all of them shivering. Tifa jogged ahead to go greet her father, the leader of their little space. He could tell that it was cold, sure, but he really wasn’t feeling it.

“I bet it’s _that freak’s_ fault!” he heard someone cry, and he paused in his walking.

He didn’t need to go any farther to realize that they were talking about him. Sure, he wasn’t the best monk, but that didn’t mean that he could just suddenly call down the wrath of winter. He scowled, fists clenching. The villagers hadn’t seen him yet. He stepped back a pace, casting his eyes to the side, turning and starting back toward the house.

Why did he bother?

“You know,” came the smooth, calm voice, and he jumped, spinning around to see the same… the same _man_ from his dreams last night standing between him and the village, wrapped in a warm cloak, “I hope that this helps persuade you that you’ve freed me from my bonds.”

He snarled. “I did nothing.”

Shiva—Tseng— _whoever_ it was, gestured with a hand, indicating the surrounding area. “You’d be just as cold as your… other acquaintances… if I hadn’t lent you my power.”

Cloud closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Oh, not with this bullshit. His hand found its way into his pants pocket, and he started rubbing his thumb over the little stone again. No, he remembered everything now. Why did he get himself into these problems? He grabbed Shiva’s wrist and tugged him forward, into their little hut, before anyone could notice them.

“What? Stormcloud, what are you—oh! Who is this handsome young…”

Tseng bowed respectfully at the waist as Cloud moved quickly to draw the shades over the tiny window that they had.

“I am Tseng, Lord Shiva, the god of ice. You may have more—”

“Oh, don’t give her that shit,” Cloud snapped. “You did this. Undo this.”

“Cloud,” his mother snapped, then turned and bowed back to Tseng. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You were the one that brought my little Stormcloud home last night?”

“I was,” he said, looking at her with a softer expression. “Thank you for allowing me in.”

“I apologize for the way that I appeared. I was half asleep when I answered.”

“ _Mom!_ ” he snapped. “ _You let him in_?”

Tseng waved a hand dismissively. “It wouldn’t have mattered if she let me in or not. I would have gotten in. I will admit, Ms. Strife, that your son is a remarkable young man. I’ve tried to convince him that he possesses the rare gift of natural magic, the magic of a summoner.”

His mother froze, looking like a fiend caught off-guard. “I…”

“That’s _it!_ ” Cloud bellowed, slamming his hands on the table, “You either get your gay ass out of this goddamn house or I will personally rip you a new shithole!”

There was a moment of silence, and then Cloud’s mother shook her head. “Stormcloud, please… I…” she paused, looking more upset than she meant to. “I… I suppose that it makes sense. I feared there was something more at play.”

Cloud blinked, anger leaving him in a rush to be replaced with horror and worry, then looked at her and furrowed his brow. “What are you saying?”

“You’ve always held the gift of magic,” she said softly. “I tried to never let you… I never wanted to tell you. You were the only one that… I was so worried that the people of Midgar would kill you for your gift that we fled to Nibelheim.”

“W-what…”

“We… were never sure, but you’ve always had a special attachment to animals. Your father used to work with chocobos in Midgar, and they loved you, got wildly protective of you. You were just learning how to walk when one of the king’s sons pushed you to see the golden chocobo, knocking you over and splitting your head on the wood and…” she paused, looking down, about to cry, and shook her head. She rested her head in her hands. “The entire stable went _berserk_ when you started wailing.”

Cloud’s eyes were wide, and he let out a soft exhale.

“Then they saw your head covered in blood… and they… They killed the king’s son protecting you.” He jerked when he heard a sob rip from her chest. “We fled. To Nibelheim. But they killed your father so that we could escape.” She started crying, and Cloud was by his mother in a heartbeat, arms around her to comfort her. “But word eventually spread, and rumors started that you looked like the kid who called all the chocobos to attack. Nibelheim outcasted you because of it all.”

“Mom…” Cloud said softly, holding her tightly as Tseng took his chair.

“I worried for so long! I thought that they were going to come from us!” she sobbed. “I hid you from them. I refused to let you become a monk for so long that when you finally started, I knew that they would never let you return to Midgar. I couldn’t let them send you back! I’m sorry, Stormcloud. I didn’t mean to—”

“Mom,” he shushed her, holding her tighter. “Mom… it’s… okay.” He wasn’t sure how to take this news. “I… you were doing what’s best, right?” He could process it later.

“I… I tried to. I didn’t think that they’d… they’d make your life so much more difficult. I’m so sorry, Stormcloud. I’m so sorry. I should have known that there was so much more to what happened.”

There was silence for a few seconds, outside of the sounds of Claudia crying, and Cloud just held her, then looked at Shiva. The man had a stoic expression, eyes adverted to afford them a tiny amount of privacy.

“I never actually realized that it was magic. This world hasn’t had spellcasters that didn’t need materia to cast something in so long, never mind the ability to communicate with fiends. We laughed that it was just your hair, that they thought that you were one of them, ever since you were little.”

“You have the calling of the summoner.” Shiva commented, getting both of their attentions again as his mother blew her nose into a hankie procured from her dress. “Leviathan, the god of water, put the world to sleep in his bindings in order to protect it from the wrath of the elder council of gods. The fog protected a great deal of the land from their scourge. However, left unchecked, it will eventually consume the entirety of your world. It was the only way that he could protect you while he was imprisoned.”

“Why do they—this… this council—want to destroy the land?”

Tseng looked at Cloud, meeting his eyes, and said without any hint of emotion, “Because we gave you the gift of magic, and they did not like it. A handful of materia was as far as we got before we were caught and cast from the heavens.”

His fingers curled into his mother’s sleeves as she slowly stopped sniffling.

“But the earth will always take care of itself. To have everything slumber is not the will of Gaia. It created many summoners that were killed long before they could figure out what they were doing. When you managed to escape that night with your mother and flee to Nibelheim, what little power that I had, I used to protect you. Winters became too harsh to travel outside of the area. Your people became adapted for sub-arctic weather to protect the area. Ifrit, the god of fire, with what little power that he had, made the citizens of Midgar maladapted for winter. They lived so long around his volcano that they never bothered to question why they couldn’t handle any of the cold.”

It took him a few minutes to process everything that was being said. His mother didn’t look particularly at ease. He had latent magic? He was capable of doing what others said was so impossible? No, that couldn’t be. He was nothing that special, and most certainly he was not selected by mother Gaia, the Lifestream and heart of their planet, to be something so… so _huge_.

“He’s leaving, isn’t he?” she asked. “It’s time that he learns about magic, isn’t it?”

“He should have been a long time ago.” Tseng said, drumming his fingers on the table. “But it’s not your fault. Rather, it’s Reno’s—Ixion’s.”

“That shithead is the cause of a lot of my problems,” Cloud murmured, letting his mother go slowly before straightening.

“He was supposed to be training you from the get-go,” Tseng said, looking at him. “Call for him, would you?”

“You want me to ask him into my home? He’s going to take that as an invitation to eat everything, and we really can’t afford that,” Cloud said, scowling.

When Tseng didn’t respond, Cloud wrinkled his nose, closing his eyes and reaching out to the comfortable little part of his brain that he could always feel Ixion residing in. He extended an invitation, asking for his help, and then nearly shat his pants when he felt a pair of arms slide around his waist uninvited.

“To be _fair_ , he never really needed training,” came the smooth voice, and then there was a loud yelp and the sound of flesh striking flesh. Reno hit the small kitchen counter groaning as he clutched his nose. “Hey, yo, tha’s no’ nice.”

Before Cloud could launch the offensive, the cold hand of Shiva landed on his shoulder, restraining him with a gentle touch.

“Save your anger,” he said, looking toward the door, and there was a loud noise as someone pounded on it. “Allow us the opportunity to make it up to you and show you the power that you will wield through us.”

There was a pounding on the door. “ _Strife_! You freak! Get out here and explain how you did this, you fucking weirdo!”

There was a pause, and then Tseng flicked a finger, the door opening as he glided outside, through the crowd of villagers and elders and all of the murmurings and cries of shock, and Reno went waltzing out behind him, leaning on the doorframe as Cloud watched from farther back inside.

“Where’s the chocobo-headed wingding? He got a second fuck boy to pummel him from the other end, too?”

Reno stepped up, twirling a two-foot staff through long, lanky fingers. It crackled with electrical power, small arcs jumping up the length of it. Tseng floated back beside the god of thunder, frowning mildly. Cloud stepped out onto the ice, pushing his way between the two “gods” and looking at the villagers.

“ _There he is_ ,” one of them growled, holding up his fists to fight.

“It is not his fault,” Shiva said, shaking his head. “For I was the one who called down the ice. Cloud will be coming with us. He has a higher calling than you.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna give him a higher calling,” another villager shouted, a few of them moving forward as if to engage in combat.

“Enough of this. I tire of your disrespect,” Shiva snipped.

Cloud turned to see the god hold up two fingers to his lips while his enemies gathered closer together, ready for a fight. Tifa came darting around the crowd to snag his wrist and pull him out of the way. She clung to his arm, watching. When Tseng spun, Cloud’s eyebrows rose into his hairline, watching as ice began to build around his enemies, trapping them where they stood. He watched him spin and twirl, summoning ice and cold winds before gathering a huge amount of energy at his fingertips and shooting it at them, raising walls of ice around them and trapping them. He was entranced by the whirl of snowy-ice and the panic on his enemies’ faces.

What sealed it was the simple twist of his hand and the snap of his fingers, causing the ice coffin to implode with the people still inside.

He blinked, watching as the ice vanished. He could see the people collapse, and his eyes grew wide. Perhaps this… this Tseng-god-Shiva was telling the truth. Perhaps he was a god. He never realized how powerful these guys could be. Was Reno this powerful? No, Ixion didn’t have a crystal, did he? He certainly hadn’t seen one. It was more likely that Trickster would have a crystal rather than him.

 _This_ was the power of the crystal gods, and, according to the children’s stories, they got stronger the closer to heaven they got. He was frozen in his spot as he saw red begin to seep across the pristine snow. Tifa gasped, moving forward to check on the fallen people while he watched with cruel indifference. A cold hand landed on his shoulder, easily felt through the robe and thin shirt that he wore. He looked up to meet Shiva’s gaze. There was no judgement on his face, just observing him. Reno stood between them and the villagers, ready to intercept.

“Will you assist us, Cloud?” the god asked. “We need your power to free the others and take back what was rightfully our place in the heavens.”

“Why should I help you do that?”

Tseng raised an eyebrow.

“Because not only will you get to call us down anytime you want,” Reno offered, one hand on his hip and the other waving the electrified shortstaff about dismissively, “you’ll also get to see what’s under the fog. Plus, you’ll get to travel, prove these assholes that you’re stronger than they are, _and_ you’ll become a legend.”

They both looked at him, and he grinned, giving them a thumbs-up. “Hey, who _honestly_ wants to stay here? Take Tifa along with you. It’s all good. Besides, Angie’s gotta be gettin’ antsy if his fog crawled all the way up to these lands.”

Cloud looked bewildered, looking between the two gods.

“I am so ready to get out of this place,” Ixion commented, resting the electricity staff on his shoulder. “And I know that Cloud is. Tell me: what are the _benefits_ of staying here, my cute little Stormcloud?”

Before he could possibly attack, Shiva had a hand resting gently on the back of his neck, and it was _Tifa_ who sent the bastard flying with a kick to the back, sending him sprawling out in the snow.

“What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?” she snapped, hands on her hips. “The _last_ thing that he needs is that nickname being spread around.”

Ixion whined from where he was laying in the snow, and Tseng looked at Cloud while Tifa started chasing the thunder god.

“We still intend on delivering magic to your people,” he said softly. “So that materia is no longer the restraining factor.”

“You’re going to trust these morons with a bunch of powerful magic?”

Tseng’s smile was almost knowing. “Yes. Such is the will of Gaia, and we were created to serve her. _Not_ the other way around. The council believes that we are to _preside_ over your kind, not to serve you.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “And how will we _get_ to this… next crystal?”

“We’ll go and fetch Ifrit. He will take us to the top of the spire in Midgar, where you will meet Valefor, a large flying fiend who will lend you his strength.”

“Why bother Ifrit?”

“Because then he is freed as well.”

“Are you really free with me?”

“Even if you called for us every second of the day, it would still be preferable to living within the confines of that crystal.”

Cloud frowned, looking contemplative at the words the man spoke. Ixion, of course, had to jump in, even as he jumped away from Tifa’s fist.

“Yo, you have _no idea_ how good it feels to be out and working again. Like, I’m the laziest son of a bitch that you’ll ever meet, and even _I_ was getting bored.” Reno shocked a villager who dared step to close.

Cloud looked up at Tseng, still mildly concerned.

“Your mother will be fine. If you are concerned, we can take her with us to Midgar—”

“No, I want her here. She’s safer here.”

“I promise you that I’ll be fine,” came from behind him, and he turned to see his mother in the doorway, wearing a watery smile. “Please, Stormcloud. I want you to embrace your gift. Not hate it. Go with Lord Shiva.”

“Mom?” he asked, looking mildly upset.

“You can always come and see me. I’ll make a living here.”

“We can move her as soon as we clear out the fog that covers the rest of your world. We’ll even get her into Costa del Sol if you’d like.”

“Nah, man, she needs to move in around the Golden Saucer!” Reno chirped, brandishing his weapon at another villager that moved too close.

The villagers overall were starting to move off, he noticed. They were surprisingly quiet. Maybe they wanted to get rid of him? Most likely. He cast a look at them, noticed how on-edge they were, then looked back at his mother.

“Are you sure, mom?” he asked.

She smiled gently, holding out her arms. Cloud moved automatically, pulling her into a tight hug and burying his face into her neck. He wasn’t going to cry. How could he leave his mother? The two gods waited a few paces back, and Tifa hovered, tapping Shiva’s shoulder and asking about coming with. Tseng nodded.

“Are you sure about this, Mom? What if they don’t take care of you?” he murmured.

“Oh! I know the answer to that one!” Ixion shouted. “We’ll send a messenger to check on her every so often, and if they’re not doing right by her, I can come back here and fry the whole damn village.”

“I would think it would be better to set S—” Tseng paused, frowned, then shook his head, “—set Zodiark upon them when he awakens.”

The god of darkness of chaos. He… would meet _Zodiark?_

Ixion paled. “Oh… Oh, that’s mean, Tseng. He’ll level it and slaughter everyone.”

Tseng just offered a smooth, cold smile. Cloud slowly let go of his mother, looking at her imploring eyes.

“Please, Stormcloud,” she murmured, taking his hands. “I don’t want you to live in fear of your power. I want you to thrive, and you’re not doing it here.”

“Mom… I…”

“My dad will take care of her,” Tifa offered, smiling at the mayor’s balking. “You guys don’t have much, and he’ll have a spare bedroom with me leaving with you.”

“You are _not_ —”

“I’m going with Cloud. Ixion, could you convince him that I’m leaving? I don’t want to leave Cloud without a friend on this adventure.”

“I’m not a friend?” Ixion squawked, but started summoning a thick, rolling blanket of angry storm clouds.

“No, you’re a nuisance,” Cloud answered, watching as his mother moved inside. “I’ll… go. I guess. Provided that they actually take care of her.”

Shiva nodded, and Tifa laughed. “Of course they will! My dad promises to take care of her so that I’ll return eventually!”

He looked at the mayor, whose face was red with outrage. Tifa bounced over and wrapped her arms around one of Cloud’s. “I’ll go grab my pack that was supposed to be for Midgar. This’ll be great training and an awesome adventure!”

She darted off, and he scowled, looking at Tseng. “I don’t get a choice, do I?”

Tseng coughed lightly into his hand. “A truer man I’ve never seen, doing things to please the women in his life.”

He rolled his eyes so hard that for a second, he thought that they may fall out.

“Won’t he need a staff, Tseng, baby?” Reno asked as he poked his head into the house to see his mother packing a small bundle. “You know, make it a little easier so that he can keep up with the summonings?”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Cloud snapped.

“A staff will help channel your energy far more efficiently than the way that you do it now,” Tseng explained, holding his hands to the sky and summoning the snow and ice, twisting and turning into a beautiful, sparkling staff that shone with a dark-blue crystal at the top of it. He took it when offered. “It’s only a basic staff, but we will get you something better when we have the chance. Go ahead. Call Trickster. You’ll need him to get to the kingdom faster than walking for three days.”

“What do I do with this?” Cloud muttered, awkwardly looking at the staff as Shiva wove some sort of holster… belt-thing for the staff.

A sharp glare from Tseng had Reno yelping. “Yo, man, look! I know, I know. I kinda sorta failed miserably, but do you really think that any of those stupid staves that the monks fought with would have done him any good?”

Tseng let out a harsh breath, pinching his nose, then adjusting the cloak around himself. “A fool. Were you not so adept at protecting him, I would be angry.” He looked at Cloud. “When you call forth Trickster, simply keep the staff in your hands. It will ease the expenditure of magic.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow, frowned, and then adjusted to hold it in one hand. He whistled for Trickster, calling him forth, and instead of feeling any real tug on his own body or mind, his eyes blinked open at the sound of a loud, “Kweh!” He looked to see Trickster racing toward them, pausing a few inches from him and warbling before headbutting him for pats. He started scratching his neck, ruffling the feathers and listening to the warm warbling. He didn’t bother listening to anything anyone else was saying. It wasn’t until his mother returned with a small, wrapped package that he looked up. Shiva and Ixion were lingering not too far away, watching, looking almost cozy against each other as they gave him room to think. Not that he let himself think when petting Trickster.

“Here, Stormcloud. It’s not much, but it’s a little bit to eat and some spare gil that I was trying to save for you to get you something nice.”

He looked at the tiny package, and she handed him a small bag with his extra clothes in it.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” he asked, frowning, and his mother gasped.

“Stormcloud, no!” she cried, looking mortified. “No, baby, I want you to flourish! It’s all that I’ve ever wanted. You can’t do that here, and you know it. You’ll be traveling with Lord Shiva. Surely I can trust him with my baby.”

Shiva bowed deeply. “I will protect him with every ounce of magic and strength that I have.”

She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “I don’t want you to leave, but you’ll be only miserable here.” He hugged her back, dropping the pack and bag. “I want you to live a better life. I want you to rise above this awful life—”

“Don’t say that,” Cloud chastised. “You’ve done your best.”

She pulled back to cup his cheeks. “And now you need to do _better_. Just don’t forget your momma when you learn the gift that you have.”

“I could never forget you, mom,” he said, pulling her into another hug. “I just worry that they won’t take care of you.”

“I volunteer Zodiark to come and smoosh them if they don’t! And if we find out before we rescue Zodiark, I volunteer Ifrit to come and light the whole damn countryside on fire,” Ixion offered out.

“Ifrit would quite like that,” Shiva said, frowning. “I don’t think that he’s gotten to play with fire in a long time.”

“So, Ifrit or Zodiark it is,” Ixion offered, shrugging. “Now, if you don’t mind, girly is on her way, so I’m going to scram. Tseng’s got you covered, Cloud.”

In a clap of lightning, the god was gone, and he was left standing there with Lord Shiva as he pulled back from his mother, looking more than slightly upset at the idea that he would be leaving her here. Cloud looked back at his mother and hugged her again.

“Are you sure… with me leaving?” he asked. “This is really sudden.”

“The biggest adventures usually are,” she said. “And if you find your father’s grave… Or any of his things…”

“I’ll bring them home.”

She hugged him again. “You’re so much braver than I am.”

He was quiet, worried, upset.

“No killing the king.”

“No guarantees,” Shiva said. “Ifrit has a quick temper and detests the royalty. One sleight, and he may just decide to finish them off for attempting to harness his power for their own purposes.”

Cloud snorted. He kinda liked the way this guy—god? Were they really gods?—sounded.

“I’m sure that you and Ifrit will get along quite well.”

He looked as Tifa came bounding up, pausing at the sight of Trickster. Trickster warbled happily and swayed before kneeling down. Cloud threw his leg over, casting one last glance at the villagers, expression stormy, then back to his mother as he waited for Tifa to get on.

“Mom?”

“I will come and check on her each night if you do so prefer,” Shiva offered, bowing. “If that will ease your mind.”

“She’ll also be staying with my dad,” Tifa offered, sliding on behind him, now carrying a pack of supplies. “Just so that you don’t have to worry about her not being able to take care of herself.”

“I see to that, then,” Shiva said, kissing his mother’s hand before pressing something into the palm that Cloud couldn’t see. “Although you bear not the gift of summoning, I will leave you with a token that will react as if it were your son calling for me, for he carries your lineage, so that I might know if you are ever in trouble.”

“Ah… thank you, Lord Shiva,” she said, clutching her hands close to her heart. “Although I doubt that you will likely worry much for me. Just promise to take care of my Stormcloud.”

He offered a gentle smile. “He is in the hands of the gods now. He will receive no better protection.”

Cloud was watching the whole thing with trepidation, even as Tifa scolded her father when Trickster stood up to make sure that he would take care of her. He inhaled deeply when Shiva turned back to him.

“Are you ready?”

“No,” he said, “but I don’t think that mom would let me stay.”

“She’s quite keen on the idea of you being able to live a life that you would enjoy,” he said, then whistled, catching Trickster’s attention and gliding off. “Come, Trickster! The journey awaits!”

It let out a loud “Kweh!” and began to chase after the god. Cloud turned his head to wave once more to his mother, his expression crumpling as she slowly grew smaller. Did his mother really look as happy as he thought that she did? Was she really that eager for him to get out on his own and leave her behind? Eventually, she disappeared as they hit the path leading into the forest, Shiva leading them. He turned back to the chocobo, ignoring Tifa’s look of concern, and steeled his expression. He would just have to hope for the best. Would the villagers actually care for her? He didn’t want her to die simply because he was forced into some ridiculous quest like a hero from the fairytales that he listened to at bedtime when he was little (and sometimes when he was older, too, when he noticed that mother would look grief-stricken and depressed, and it was the only thing that he knew would cheer her up). He couldn’t go back now. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen.

“Shiva!” he called out over the whistling wind, and the god looked back at him without slowing. “Can you deliver messages and letters to my mother when you check on her?”

The smile told him everything that he needed to know. Nodding once in return, he hunkered closer to Trickster’s neck. They traveled for quite some time, racing down the pathway, whizzing by critters and what were probably fiends. They didn’t stop for a while, until Trickster slowed down and ventured off the path a bit to find a small river that it could drink from.

Cloud grunted as he slid off the bird’s back, stretching as Tifa jumped off and looked around. “Is travel always this boring, Shiva?”

“It’s even worse on foot,” Shiva said. “Please, call me Tseng.”

“So… if we know you as Shiva, why do you have a secondary name?” Tifa asked. “Are you really the god Shiva?”

“Tseng is the name that I am known by in the heavens. When I was bound, they denied us even the most basic of rights as our names. Such is the way that it was with all of us. They spread lies to the early humans, the ones that you know as the Ancients, that our names were what you know us as, and they laughed as we became nothing more than bedtime stories. Our temples fell to ruin within the land, and our crystals were slowly forgotten by all but those stories.”

“Why did they do that?” Tifa asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We gave magic to the mortal realm. Such was Gaia’s will, but the council forgot that she does not serve us, and that we serve her.”

Tifa hummed, watching him curiously.

“For now, I shall travel to check on your mother. I suggest that you gather wood for a fire. I will build you a little shelter of ice when I return.”

Before they could say anything, the god was gone in a swirl of ice and snow. Tifa blinked a few times before looking at him.

“Well… I guess that should start a fire. Do you want to help me gather wood? Or search for food?”

“I’d be better at hunting,” he commented, looking at her owlishly. “There was plenty of firewood to pilfer around the village.”

She nodded. “Don’t wander too far.”

“You can’t either,” he teased, and she laughed.

“I won’t. I promise. Go get us food.”

He hummed, waving her off as he let himself get ready to hunt.

It didn’t take long before he managed to take down a wolf, skinning and gutting it to see if there was any viable meat and making sure that it wasn’t diseased. When he confirmed that the meat was good, he carried the carcass back to their little camp to finish dressing it. Along the way, a little onion-headed creature started to follow behind him. It had a singular eye and a curious clattering noise to speak as he set the carcass down back at camp. He raised an eyebrow when it moved closer, offering out a thin sliver of meat. Thin leaves, masquerading as arms, reached out and wrapped around his fingers and pulled it from his hand. It was devoured in a rapid smacking of onion halves, and he almost missed Tifa’s entrance with an armful of wood to make a fire.

“What is that?”

“Dunno,” he said, offering it a bit of bone and watching it gnaw like a wolf. “But it followed me here after I caught the wolf and started dressing it.”

She set the wood down and squatted in front of it, laughing quietly when it didn’t even turn and look at her. “It’s kinda cute. Can I touch it?”

“Dunno,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Like I said, it just started following me.”

He dug around for another bone, offering it out and watching it wrap its other leafy hand around the new treat. He started carving out hunks of meat to roast as Tifa started the fire. When they finally had some food cooking, Shiva returned in a swirl of ice and snow. Tifa was giggling as the onion creature let it pet her, though it startled at the god’s return. Shiva—Tseng—blinked at the sight, then nodded at the creature.

“Your mother is doing well. I will check again in the morning, but she at least has a room larger than your entire house. I see that you have a wild onion in your arsenal now.”

“A what?” they both asked.

“It just followed me back,” he said, frowning.

Tseng sighed, raising an igloo from the ground to sit on. It looked like the size of those two-man tents that the monks favored using when traveling in pairs. “Reno is going to _get it_ when we’re finally restored to the heavens. Cloud, do me a favor, offer the onion your hand.”

“He’s eating right now,” Tifa stated, then glanced at the way the little creature mowed through the pile of bones that Cloud struggled to keep available for it. “Actually, he’s already eaten a good bit of the skeleton. Surely he’s getting full by now?”

“I’m not sure that he’ll actually ever stop eating,” Cloud said, even as he offered out his hand to the little creature.

It paused, looking at his fingers, then, dropping the bone and happily chittering as it wrapped its leaves around his fingers as if to hold his hand, and then, in a poof, it disappeared. He could feel a tingle up his arms, and he blinked when it was gone. He looked at Shiva, who smiled.

“Call for it, Cloud,” he urged. “It’s a wild onion.”

He frowned, then closed his eyes. What else could he do? The god clearly wasn’t going to let this go. He didn’t, however, know entirely how to call it forth. The others were always just… around. All he had to do was extend a figurative hand to the creature, and it would hear his calling and come to him. Perhaps… all he had to do was reach out, so he sent a silent prayer up to the wild onion to return, and he could feel his own spirit being pulled on. Tifa gasped, and he opened his eyes to see the critter staring up at him. He blinked, and it reached up with its little leafy arms. He blinked again and then offered it another sliver of bone. With a happy cheer, it took it from him and started eating. He glanced up at Tseng, who gave him a small smile.

“It came at your call, Cloud.”

He grunted, turning to ignore him and focusing on the little critter in front of him. He shook his head, feeding it a little more before turning to his food. No, he didn’t need to bother thinking about this. He had plenty of other things to consider. He had to figure out if any of his father’s things were still around. They might be wherever the chocobos were kept. His mother had precisely one photo of them altogether, when he was _little_ little, toddling around. (Anything to keep from focusing on the real issue of _magic_.)

He didn’t speak anymore until after the food was made. Tifa was merrily chatting with Tseng, and he vaguely registered it all as he stared into the fire. The onion creature sat on his foot, gnawing at the bones that he would give it. Eventually, it rose and toddled off, and Cloud watched it go with a quiet sigh.

“You okay, Cloud?” came the quiet question, and he looked up to see Tifa sitting near him, looking worried.

He hummed, looking back to the fire and offering a shrug. “Guess so.”

“It can’t be easy, everything that happened today,” she prompted, and he shrugged again.

“Can’t change it now,” he mumbled.

He missed his mother already. She was really the only constant in his life, and she never failed to love him. Still, he promised her that he’d learn to make a new life, to embrace the wild power that he (apparently) had as a summoner. It was the one school of magic that not even materia could replicate (yet), and here he was summoning creatures as easy as breathing, his desperation for company ultimately overwhelming his need to become a better monk. Chimeras that bowed their head(s) to greet him and wolves that cuddled with him were apparently all indicative of something darker flowing in his veins.

He could hear Tifa sigh beside him. Internally, he grimaced: she didn’t like it when he just… shut down, and that was all that he could do. Such changes… without any real preparation… The fact that she left him alone meant that she understood.

So eventually, they retired to the igloo as Tseng promised to watch over them for the night, and Cloud found himself curling around Tifa in the warmth of their little ice hut. He would have to thank the man—god?—tomorrow for making this for them. It didn’t stop the wild upheaval that was going on in his brain, but it promptly stuttered to a stop when he felt fingers combing through his hair. He let his eyes flutter closed, and he could hear Tifa’s quiet chuckle as she let him rest his head against her chest as they settled down.

“It’ll be okay, Cloud. We’ll get everything sorted out,” she said quietly. “This is just your chance at a big adventure. Imagine what your mother will say when you come back from your adventuring. I bet that she’ll be proud of you. My dad will take care of her. I promise. Everyone knows how much you love her.”

He exhaled, long and slow, and she hummed.

“It’ll take a bit to get used to. I’m the one that’s been looking forward to getting out of the town more than anything. You always kept looping back into staying back to help your mother. She probably thinks that this is your chance to spread your wings and fly.”

He lifted one hand to set on her thigh in an effort to cuddle a bit closer and try to let his mind shut off.

“Don’t worry: I won’t leave you. We’re in this together, you and me. Okay, Cloud?”

He exhaled, relaxing a little more.

“I know. You’ve used up all your words for the day,” she teased. “Magic or monk, hell or high water.”

There was silence. Then, “Thank you, Tifa.”

“It’s okay. This is a lot of change you weren’t prepared for. Now come on: let’s get some sleep. You’re a furnace at the best of times, and I fully intend on taking advantage of that.”

He snorted, adjusting to spoon her close and let her laugh as they slowly fell asleep.

Waking in the morning, Cloud was surprised to smell something already cooking. Frowning, he stirred, stretching, as Tifa woke up beside him. He slowly sat up.

“Do you smell that?” he asked, and she frowned as she rubbed sleep from her eyes.

A few seconds of silence, and then Tifa was immediately on the alert, crawling out of the igloo only to let out a soft, “Oh!” Cloud followed closely behind her, looking at the scene before him. There was a young woman in black shorts and a white top, a green bandana in her hair and another swatch of green cloth tied around her waist.

“Hi there! The Great Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi at your service!”

“Yuffie?” Cloud asked, raising an eyebrow. 

She laughed. “Yup! Saw your little igloo and embers and figured that I’d keep the fire going overnight!”

Tifa was blinking, surprised, and looked at Cloud, mouthing, “ _Tseng_?”

He shrugged, looking back at her. “Why are you here?”

“I’m going up north to hunt for treasure, _duh_ , _”_ she commented, rolling her eyes. “No one from Midgar’s gone up there yet.”

“That’s because there’s nothing there,” Tifa responded, cocking her head, gesturing between them. “We’re from there.”

Yuffie blinked, then laughed. “Nice try! The treasure is mine!”

“Go for it,” Cloud said, stepping forward to poke at the roasting… whatever it was. “You’re planning on sharing this, right?”

Yuffie looked surprised. “Uh… sure?”

“Thanks,” he said, sitting down. “Skirt the town of Nibelheim—they’re not very friendly.”

“Uh…”

“Treasures are in the mountains. Careful of the monsters. Dragons live there.”

He pulled out the knife that he had, using it to cut Tifa and himself some breakfast before turning to give her a piece and sitting down. He didn’t have to say anymore. They would be leaving before too long. Tifa huffed as she sat down beside him.

“What my friend here means to say is that you’re welcome to keep traveling to Nibelheim, but there really aren’t any treasures up there, and the dragons are real.”

The younger woman didn’t look pleased. “I was told there was a fountain of materia—hey!”

Cloud couldn’t help the snort that left him, mumbling, “Just a stupid lump of crystal—”

“That’s exactly what I want!” she chirped. “That crystal can be used to fuel just about everything! The king and his men even think that we might be able to craft our own materia with the legendary crystals. And with the fire crystal officially sealed off inside the volcano—”

“There’s _actually_ another crystal?” Tifa asked, looking surprised. “I thought that it was all just children’s bedtime stories!”

Yuffie cackled. “Nope! Midgar uses the strength of the fire crystal to power itself. Their entire city uses the geothermal springs and lava pits for energy. The king promised anyone the power of royalty if they can bring him either the fire or ice crystal from where they reside.”

“And… no one’s ever come for the ice crystal?” Cloud mused, chewing on the meat, amused.

“They’ve never returned. Same for the ones who go into the volcano—though it’s easier to know that they burned alive,” Yuffie explained, “but I’ve gotten it all figured out. I’ll bring back the ice crystal for the king and claim the reward.”

“You can’t,” Cloud said, more interested in the food.

“That’s what you say!”

“And what he says is correct, Miss… Kisaragi,” came the smooth voice from behind her, making her screech.

Instinctively, he knew it to be Shiva. Tseng. Whatever the fuck his name was. He didn’t need to look up to know that’s who startled her.

“Who are you?” she yelped, twisting to see the summon behind her.

Cloud huffed as Shiva moved over beside him and a cold hand landed on his shoulder. “Lord Shiva, god of ice. The crystal that you seek is mine. As I am no longer there, neither is my crystal.”

Her eye twitched. “What?”

“We’re will awaken the fire crystal,” Tseng explained, and that seemed to garner some interest from the young woman. Adjusting his cloak, he looked toward the city they would eventually reach. “I’m sure that he misses his companions.”

“So… who is the fire crystal god?” Tifa asked, looking at Tseng.

There was a wry smile. “You know him as—”

“Ifrit, now tell us his _heavenly_ name,” Cloud gruffed, still more preoccupied with his food.

“Genesis.” It was a curt response, full of amusement. “I think that you’ll find him as… fiery… as his power.”

“Genesis,” Cloud murmured, ignoring Yuffie’s confused noise.

“Oh…” Tifa said, looking a bit surprised. “I can tell you all about them as we travel, Yuffie. That is… if you want to come with us.”

Yuffie grinned at her. “Of course I will! You sound just crazy enough to be doing a real adventure, and maybe I’ll even find some materia or treasure along the way!”

He snorted inelegantly as the two girls started talking. They seemed to be fast friends. Yuffie was busy regaling her with stories as they snuffed the fire and made sure that it cooled down. Cloud, meanwhile, was standing near their igloo, wondering if they should break it down. With a frown, he considered grabbing the staff that was resting by their stuff, knowing full well that Tseng wanted him to get better with it.

… so instead, he whistled, and it wasn’t long before two nibel wolves came running toward them, howling happily before skidding to a stop in front of him. He couldn’t help the laugh when one of them reared up and placed its forepaws on his shoulders, showering his face with warm, wet kisses. He pushed it down after a few seconds and pointed at the igloo, which the two eagerly started tearing into.

“You didn’t use your staff,” he heard from Tseng.

“I don’t need it,” he said, turning to look at the girls and flat-out ignoring the god.

Yuffie looked equal parts alarmed and surprised, though it all quickly morphed into curiosity. “Those are wolves.”

Cloud hummed noncommittally as he bent over to gather his things, picking up the staff. They couldn’t even use Trickster since the three of them would never fit. He picked up the pack that his mother made for him, strapping it to his side and then shouldering his limited gear.

“Those are… _wolves_ ,” Yuffie stressed, looking at them all before one of the wolves came over, pressing its head into his hand. “Like, the scary, attack-you, eat-your-face wolves.”

“Yes, and?” Cloud asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“The, you know—”

“They’re fine,” he said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

“They’re… _wolves_. Does everyone up north train them or something?” she asked, still mildly afraid, looking at Tifa, who laughed behind her hand.

“Cloud’s just… special,” she said, offering a teasing smile. “Come on. We need to get going.”

“I will be with you,” Tseng said, then vanished in a swirl of snow, making Yuffie jump.

“Okay, that’s weird. He’s weird. Shiva… Shiva? Really? Was that really the goddess of ice?” she narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest, and Cloud raised an eyebrow. “Everyone knows that Shiva is a girl. That was _definitely_ a man in women’s clothing.”

Cloud snorted. Looking at Tifa as she tried to find some way to explain it, he hummed to catch her attention and started walking in the way that they were going. Tifa started after him, all the while telling Yuffie that Shiva was actually a man, that he was Tseng, that blah blah blah and such and such. He honestly couldn’t care less. It was one less thing that he had to worry about, and socializing with strangers was not something that he particularly preferred to do.

So, he tuned them out with the Nibel wolves flanking either side of him, eyes ready just in case of an attack. It was the better part of the morning before anything happened, the wolves happily trotting alongside him and Yuffie slowly growing bolder, moving to pet them. When they stopped, ears alert, looking into the forest as they started to growl, he crouched, going on the defensive, and Tifa was already gearing up to fight.

The Nibel wolves howled when a swirl of ice appeared in front of them, and Cloud stepped back as he threw his hand out, pointing at the coalescing flurry. They threw themselves at the monster as two large, horned toads came hopping out to join the fray, drawn in by the noise. Tifa laughed, launching herself at one of them and landing with a solid kick. It didn’t take long before the three monsters were falling, and Cloud was glad to crouch down and welcome the victory licks from his wolves. He would have joined in… but with the four of them against the three monsters, he was afraid that it might be a bit overcrowded in the combat if he did so.

(Tseng would have told him that it was simply the fact that he was a _summoner_ and not a _monk_ , and therefore _did not belong_ in the front lines. Cloud never would have believed him.)

So after Tifa was done jumping for joy, and Yuffie done looking at… whatever she had in her hands, Cloud rose from celebrating with his wolves and rubbed their heads briskly as he offered a small smile.

“We did it!”

“I knew that we could,” Cloud murmured as they started up walking again, leaving the corpses to disappear in a smattering of green lights.

Tifa laughed, scratching at one of the wolves’ heads. “It’d be a lot more fun to ride on Trickster, though.”

“Who’s Trickster?” came the other female voice, a head of black hair bobbing into vision as she stole to the front of the party and walked backwards to face them.

“He’s Cloud’s chocobo. He found him warking around in a blizzard one day a long time ago,” Tifa explained. “He’s slightly bigger than your average chocobo, too, which makes him perfect for two travelers that have some gear! Three people is probably a bit much.”

Yuffie cocked her head. “Where is he? We can always go back and get him. Besides, I like chocobos more than wolves…” one of them growled at her, and she wrinkled her nose. “Much less eat-your-face scary.”

Yuffie continued to pester them as they kept walking, stopping only when fiends would cross their paths and rob them blind of all kinds of trinkets that were hidden within their fur. They walked well into the night, ignoring Yuffie’s complaints as it grew colder and only stopping at midnight. Tifa was quick on the firewood, and Cloud sent his wolves hunting, and before long, they had a camp set up. With a wave of his hand, he sent the wolves back into the forest with a small share of their hunt, and he grunted as he tapped the staff against the floor.

“Tseng,” he commanded, waiting for a second before the beautiful man appeared in front of him.

“You called?” he hummed, glancing around as if to assess.

“Can you…” he started, then bit his lip. Was it rude to ask such things of who might be a god? “Can you make us another ice house, please?”

Tseng blinked, then nodded. “Of course. It would be my pleasure. You’ve made more progress than I thought that you would for not using Trickster today.”

“Ugh, I know. I kept telling them that we should go back and find him, but they kept telling me no!” Yuffie pouted, looking at Tseng, who raised an eyebrow at Cloud. Cloud shrugged dismissively. “Instead, he whistled for these two wolves to come and walk with us today. He didn’t even lift that staff of his to help in the fights!”

“That _staff_ is not for fighting,” Tseng corrected, turning to look at the young woman as Tifa started cooking. “To use it for such things is blasphemous.”

“He came from _Nibelheim_ ,” Yuffie snapped back. “It’s a town of monks, isn’t it? He’s not very monk-ly.”

Cloud rolled his eyes.

“He’s not a monk,” Tseng said, frowning. “It appears that we’re going to have more problems than just a few on this journey.” He rested his head in his hand, muttering, “How long has it been since we first slumbered?”

“A long-ass time,” Cloud supplied, earning an unamused stare from the god. “I told you: _bedtime stories_.”

“I’m beginning to understand a little more thoroughly. Your world’s lack of understanding astounds me.”

“We do what we can,” Tifa offered out. “For now, though, Lord Shiva, thank you for the ice hut.”

“Just what am I missing here?” Yuffie yelled, looking even more irritated.

“I’m a magic-wielder,” Cloud said pointedly.

Yuffie paused before responding, clearly surprised. Then, she huffed and shook her head. “There’s no way. All the materia is down in Midgar. There’s no way that—”

“I don’t use materia,” Cloud interrupted. “Never have.”

“Now _that’s_ bullshit,” Yuffie said, huffing. “I’m not _stupid,_ you know. Just what kind of drugs do they do up in monkland?”

Cloud sighed as he could feel Shiva gearing up to talk, and he waved his hand, willing Shiva away just so that the didn’t have to deal with squabbling. And, to his surprise, it _worked_. Shiva vanished without much more than a wave of his hand. Tifa laughed behind her hand when Yuffie startled, and he turned his attention back to food. He stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled, looking over his shoulder and calling out for Trickster.

There was a heartbeat, and then the large white bird came screaming down the pathway. It stopped right at Cloud’s back, leaning down and warbling as his hand came up to wrap around its beak.

“Hey, Trick,” he said, smiling gently and suffocating the giggle that wanted to escape at Yuffie’s freaking out. “Think you can scavenge us some greens or something else to eat outside of just this?”

Trickster trilled happily, waving side-to-side, then bent down for Cloud to hop on. He waved at Tifa and Yuffie. “We’ll be back in a bit.”

He came back with a load of edible foods, miscellaneous berries and some root vegetables… a few aromatic leaves that Trickster insisted on.

Yuffie eyed him suspiciously all the way through dinner. He wasn’t sure that she believed him, but he didn’t care, and when they all piled into the igloo for the night, he was pleased to find that it was warmer than usually with Yuffie’s addition. It was easy to sleep.

Maybe… it wouldn’t be so bad, this journey...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud meets Valefor, Ifrit, and Leviathan. Also, tonberries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing Genesis or Angeal, so any constructive criticism is welcome, even if not about those two! I would love to hear if others are still interested.

It didn’t take long for them to wake the next morning. Well, for _him_ , he was _sweltering_. Tifa curled up on his right, head on his chest, and Yuffie pressed against his left, and all their legs were tangled up. There was sweat on the back of his neck, and beading through his hair, and he let his mouth hang open to draw in more air in a vain attempt to cool down.

Wait…

He adjusted one hand enough to pat the ground, quietly murmuring for the Wild Onion. It materialized off to the side, and Cloud grunted. Maybe if he was a summoner, he wouldn’t even have to talk to it. He stared at it, pushing an image of breaking some of the ice off the igloo and tucking it against his neck. It waddled off, tittering quietly, and a few minutes later, he was closing his eyes in delight as the ice cooled him off a tad without waking the others.

He frowned when the Onion climbed on top of his face to clamber over to his chest and sit on him. He huffed, but let his eyes flutter closed. Weren’t men of his age supposed to be _begging_ to have women pressed in on either side? He was no fool: he knew how attractive Tifa was. All the boys looked at her and wolf-whistled. (Ixion took a particular glee in “defending” her “virtue.”) He thought, at one point, that he loved her. He tried kissing her, one night under the stars after playing around in the fields instead of going to sleep as they should.

He did love her, but not in the way that he thought. Kissing her was weird, and the look at they exchanged after told them everything that they needed to know. Cloud considered her more like a sibling, and she the same. (It made every punch on the others for staring too long at her chest feel so much more justified.) Now there was an admittedly cute girl fast asleep on his other side, and he… didn’t feel anything. Maybe he just didn’t know her well enough?

He sighed when she shifted against him and let himself doze off again. It wasn’t until Tifa sat up that he stirred again. She yawned as she stretched, then looked down at the two.

“Mornin’, Cloud,” she said, and he grunted, looking toward Yuffie. She chuckled. “Well… I’ll get breakfast, then?”

He made a soft noise in the back of his throat, and she chuckled as she moved out of the igloo. It wasn’t until the smell of breakfast slowly wafted in that the younger woman moved. She yawned, uncurling and sitting up, stretching languidly in the enclosed area. She looked at Cloud and grinned.

“You were really warm.”

He sat up, giving her a flat look as the Onion tumbled down from his chest and he cradled it in his arms. “Yeah, I was dying.”

She laughed, crawling out. He followed out behind her, the Onion in one arm and then setting it down to hop behind him as he walked over. Tifa handed him a bowl of oatmeal-like sludge with some leftover berries from last night. He accepted it graciously, and Tifa threw the little Onion a bone that she picked out of a carcass. He sat to eat next to the fire, and Yuffie watched him carefully. After devouring the bone, it wandered back into the forest, and Cloud continued to ignore the ninja while he finished breakfast.

“So…”

He ignored her.

“Hey!”

He didn’t bother looking up.

“Are you even listening?”

“He is,” came Tifa’s voice. “He’s just not keen on talking. You probably used up all of his words yesterday talking with him.”

“Does he really use magic? How can he do that? I’ve never met anyone who can use magic without materia,” she said. “Make him call a fire.”

“He can’t do that. He calls animals and fiends with his talents,” Tifa explained gently as if she was an expert. “You don’t honestly think that black and white magicks are the only kind?”

“They’re the only kind that we have in materia. I’ve never seen anything that allows a person to summon creatures. It happens only in stories of old with the Ancients.”

“Tseng,” Cloud called, and the god of ice appeared beside him.

“Yes?” he asked, frowning as he observed them.

“I have a question,” he said, “about our history.”

Yuffie perked up, leaning in as Tseng gestured for him to explain.

“You said that you were caught giving us materia, and that’s why you were sentenced to the crystals, right?”

He nodded. “Indeed.”

“How does that all fit in with the Ancients and putting everyone to sleep with that fog?”

Tseng hummed, then moved to sit down elegantly behind Cloud, a little farther from the fire. “When the world was first created, the Ancients were a people who could communicate with the planet itself. We, the gods, walked among them. Eventually, Gaia created the humans, a race that wasn’t able to use magic but had the abilities to achieve such strength regardless. They lived in harmony…”

He sighed. “Occasionally we would give them materia, various spells to make things easier, such as fire materia when they became adept at creating fire themselves, or thunder materia when they became adept at harnessing electricity.”

“It all changed when Jenova discovered the humans looking into how to create their own ‘gods’ so that they could summon stronger beasts to do their grunt work. She persuaded the elder council that they needed to strike against the humans. We lent our power to the humans. The Ancients sacrificed themselves to give us the power to protect the humans and keep the elder council from the planet, but in our exhaustion, they took us captive, their quarrel with the humans forgotten at the idea that their own kind would turn against them. Over the years that passed while we were in prison, our battle became legends as humans continued their march forward. When we were finally sentenced to the planet, the most powerful of us to crystals to keep us bound, the one that you know as Leviathan took matters into his own hands and put your world to sleep with the fog that you have battled for centuries. People who revered our battle as legends slumbered, and in your area, they became nothing more than bedtime stories over the years.”

Cloud waited for more, then frowned when the story was done. It all made sense, he supposed, but that didn’t mean that he liked it.

“And so magic just… died… with the fog?” he asked, turning to look at the god.

“Yes. With the end of the Ancients came the end of natural magic, and the Ancient bloodline died out as humans diluted what interbreeding there was.”

“So Cloud is an Ancient?” Tifa asked, cocking her head.

Tseng shook his head. “Not… quite. There are those that the planet calls to protect it; humans or Ancients, it did not matter. Humans called them Onion Knights, defenders of the planet with layers that, when spoken with, often had pasts that would bring tears to whoever was listening to the story. Ancients called them Weapons, as they believed them to be born directly from the earth herself in order to protect herself.”

“So Cloud is a weapon?” she pressed, and Tseng nodded.

“They are chosen at random, for only the planet knows the one that it selects intimately enough to have faith in them. Whatever the planet saw in Cloud, it recognizes that he has a strength beyond the normal and blessed him with the power to call its children to his aid.”

“That is the hokiest bunch of bullshit that I’ve ever heard in my life,” Cloud muttered, helping himself to more breakfast.

Tseng just hummed, looking at the women. “Do you have more questions?”

“So his magic is real,” Yuffie stated, still looking disbelieving.

“Yes, and as the last of the Weapons living, the magic of the planet flows in his veins.”

Cloud snorted as he sat back down to eat.

“Can he, like, summon fire and heal people?”

“Why would he do that, when he can summon those to do it for him?” Tseng countered, and the ninja blinked owlishly.

She narrowed her eyes. “So I’m not hearing that his magic is actually natural. He could just be good with animals and have them nearby.”

Tseng sighed, rising from where he sat, clearly done and not willing to argue. “If that is all you wish to know, I will go and check on your mother for you.”

Cloud waved a hand dismissively with a quiet, “Thanks.”

Shiva vanished in a flurry of ice, and silence settled around them. He could feel Yuffie’s gaze boring into him, Tifa’s curiosity and amusement at his discomfort clear. He ignored them both, even when the ninja tried to ask more questions, instead calling for his wolves to destroy the igloo as he washed the dishes for them. When they were finally on the road, he kept silent, though less because he wanted to ignore the others and more to figure out what was going on. How much stock did he put in Tseng’s story? He had no reason to lie, not about things like this. Their history was a long-forgotten one buried under the waves of sleeping fog that settled into every nook and cranny the world had to offer. If he was a weapon, what would that mean for him in the end? What was this strength that he was supposed to have? Did everything that he know launch itself entirely off the idea that he was some kind of creature designed to defend the planet? The very thought was enough to have him scoffing internally.

He was allowed to stew until the afternoon, after an attack from a few wolves and horned toads. Tifa fell in step beside him as Yuffie led, clearly listening.

“Hey,” she said, nudging him gently. “You’re so far away.”

He shrugged.

“Is what Tseng said… bothering you?”

His jaw tensed, and he looked away. “I… don’t know.”

Tifa hummed, studying him. “Maybe… maybe you shouldn’t think about it too much.”

He jerked, looking at her with a surprised look. “It…”

“Yeah,” she said, looking at him with a gentle look. “It’s directly affecting you, but _whatever_ you are, you’re still human. I’ve seen you bleed, and I’ve seen you cry, and I’ve seen a lot more of you than I ever wanted to see—” she laughed when he pushed her playfully. She shrugged herself. “All we really need to focus on is that you can summon beasts, and we need to try to get you more beasts to summon!”

He snorted, and she smiled at him. “What do you say? Think you could tackle a horned toad into submission?”

That did draw a chuckle from him.

“I can see it: you’ll be riding it like those idiots who thought that they could ride Trickster!”

He laughed quietly, hiding it behind his hand, and she nudged him.

“There. See? We know the past now, but it’s not going to affect us now. Doesn’t matter if you have three heads and fart rainbows—” he couldn’t help the choking laughter at that, “—because you’re still Cloud, as silent and broody as always, and you’re still my friend.”

There was a moment where he just looked at her, the smile on his face incredibly fond, and he took her hand, squeezing it gently.

“Thank you, Tifa,” he said, and she smiled.

“We’re family!” she said. “You’re not going to shake me so easily.”

He shook his head, letting a more comfortable silence fall around them. No, he didn’t need to think on it right now. There were other things to focus on as they walked toward Midgar, such as what they were actually going to do when they got there. He figured that it was up to Tseng, and maybe Reno, since they knew more about everything. It wasn’t much longer before Yuffie pointed.

“There it is! You can see Midgar! We’re about a day away!” she shouted with glee, and Cloud and Tifa peered to see the start of a large tower peeking out over the tops of the trees.

“I wish that we could all fit on Trickster,” he said dryly. “That would make this so much easier.”

Tifa laughed, shoving him and taking off down the road. “Come on, Cloud! Let’s keep going.”

They didn’t make it much closer that day from their goofing around, and they were all out of breath when they finally stopped for the night. Tifa managed to keep him from thinking too much, allowing Tseng’s information to settle in the back of his mind like a bad dream. Dinner had a fantastical energy about it. They were almost there, almost to Midgar, and it was something that Cloud dreamed about for _years_. It was warm enough that they didn’t need an igloo, and they fell asleep under the stars.

The next day passed in a blur of excitement as the looming presence of Midgar grew ever closer. When they finally made it to the gates just before sundown, Cloud and Tifa were in awe. It was so much bigger than anything they imagined, and a little ways off, the volcano smoked and spat lava. The wall stood, tall and terrifying, farther down south, visible from the ground of Midgar. Light green whisps could occasionally be seen tumbling over the top. Maybe they would see the soldiers… Yuffie vanished when they weren’t looking, and the two grinned as they stepped through into the city.

Even though it was well past midnight, the city was still alive. There were people everywhere, walking and talking and laughing. It was almost… overwhelming, coming from Nibelhiem to such a place. Tifa took his hand, wrapping herself around his arm as they gazed over the new area.

“I didn’t realize that there were so many people here…” she murmured, and Cloud linked arms more formally with her before stepping into the waves of people.

“Come on. Let’s see what’s around here,” he said. “We can sleep tomorrow.”

Tifa chuckled, letting herself be dragged along. The roads were lined with shops and stalls, places to get food and inns. The magic was harnessed into what looked like light crystals, lighting up the roads in the fading light of day. He didn’t notice at first, instead completely side-tracked by everything going on around him, how he was just another face in the crowd, how no one knew him. It made his head hurt a little to see all of this around them, a dull, throbbing pain.

“Hey! That looks like a place that sells magic stuff!”

He looked at where Tifa was pointing. There was a small store that had a curly-looking staff on it. It looked ominous enough that maybe it did sell magic stuff. Afterall, didn’t Tseng say that his staff wasn’t very good? She was dragging him in before he could protest, and they paused just inside. The entire store sparkled. Rows and rows of green and yellow and purple balls lined the walls with various weapons and armor. The light twinkling made his headache slightly worse, and he blinked before letting himself admire the place. He pushed the pain back, dismissing the immediate urge to get out.

“This must be materia,” Cloud murmured as Tifa took him to look at the orbs.

He reached out, picking one up, and he could feel the hum of magic inside it. Tifa was looking at it as well. Deep inside, green magic swirled in a lazy fashion. She reached out and picked up a different one with a different shade of green in it.

“Hello,” came the quiet voice, and they turned to see a large blue cloak standing a few feet away, a larger yellow had obscuring his face.

Cloud blinked.

“Are you interested in learning how to use materia?”

“We don’t need it, but thank you,” Tifa supplied, patting Cloud’s arm. “He’s all we need.”

The… person? Hat? Chuckled and stepped a bit closer. “You can’t always rely on the availability of items. Here, we sell the materia that gets gathered at the wall.”

“Nibelheim never used materia,” Tifa supplied.

“Oh! You’re a new monk, then!” came the pleasantly surprised response. “It’s been a while since I outfitted a monk. Here to join the SOLDIERS?”

“Yes,” Cloud supplied before Tifa could refuse. “How much does outfitting a monk cost?”

“Fifty gil up front for the basic package, and the rest is billed to the palace,” the hat said, looking at him. “Are you a monk as well?”

“No,” he supplied. He didn’t want the hat near him. “Just her… I mean… I don’t even look like one. Not like her.”

The hat laughed again. “No, you look as if you belong among the ranks of those who dedicate their lives to studying materia and the abilities that they grace us with.”

He looked at Tifa. “Do you want to see what the basic package comes with? Maybe you can get some of the materia.”

“It comes with two sets of metal claws for combat, robes enchanted for protection, and a cure and a fire materia.”

Tifa bit her lip, looking at the hat, then at Cloud. Cloud nodded, though it gave him a tiny bit of vertigo from the pain that lanced down through his skull. He needed to get out of here. First, though, he needed to take care of Tifa.

“My mother couldn’t send us with much, but we’ve got enough to at least cover that to get you started.”

“But you need a staff. Tseng said so,” Tifa commented, furrowing her brow.

Cloud shrugged, one hand sliding into his pocket to rub at the little stone in his pocket. “Yeah, but… this one works well enough for now. Besides, I haven’t even remembered to keep using it most of the time.”

“How much gil do you have?” the hat asked.

“I have… uh… 63,” he said, looking down at the small pile of coins that he had in his mother’s pack. “That damn ninja took whatever we might have gotten from the fiends.”

“Well, I’ll make you a deal, since I don’t often get people dedicated to magic. For 53 gil, I’ll give you a better staff and the basic package, but in return, I want to see how good at magic you are yet. That extra ten gil will get you a room to stay at in the inn. I’m assuming, at least, your meeting with the general won’t be until tomorrow at this hour.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow, then looked at Tifa. Tifa, in turn, stared right back. He could see her considering the deal. She cocked her head. He kept rubbing his thumb back and forth over the smooth stone in his pocket.

“What do you think?” she asked. “Is it… worth it?”

Cloud bit his lip, looking away. Was it worth it to out himself as someone able to summon? There was an insistent pressure building in his skull, a pounding for fresh air and a need to get out of there. He wasn’t sure if he should be giving away his powers quite yet if summoning was as spooky and rare as it seemed. Not that he totally believed that he had summoning magic. Fiends and animals were just the only ones that appreciated having him around… right? The pain in his head was gradually increasing as he stood there contemplating, and it wasn’t until he could feel Tseng giving him just a little bit of a mental nudge that he sighed. Perhaps he should. Tseng seemed to think it okay, a soft touch to soothe the pain in his head even for a moment. The need to get out of here was growing more difficult to manage, a pain that he couldn’t quite shake. Huffing in frustration, he looked up at the hat with a determined glare.

“ _Fine_ ,” he snarled, and his ferocity made the hat step back a little, surprised.

He didn’t know where this sudden headache was coming from, or why it was spiraling so badly here in the magic shop, but he really didn’t like this. He took a few seconds to massage his temples, hoping that the pressure would release itself a little while he distracted himself with thoughts of flying, and he hardly had the mind to think when he was led back to a spacious room meant for training.

“Cloud… are you okay?” came the worried voice as he rested his head in his hand.

“I’m… fine…” he grunted.

It felt like a tornado in his head, making his eyes water as reality seemed to flicker. It was flashes of the sky, of pure and unadulterated freedom, the cry of a bird in his ears, and then back to the practice room. He felt himself gripping his staff and leaning on it.

“Did the cure not work?” came the voice of the hat.

There was whistling in his ears, a growing crescendo of magic pushing against his skull. What was going on? He could hear it, an echo, deep in his bones, a crawling sort-of pain that was pulling itself from memories that he didn’t have. There was a name among the screeching of the birds, on the sound of the wind, in the ruffle of feathers. He could hardly make it out above the din in his head.

He slammed his staff down on the ground, snarling, “Valefor!” before he knew what he was doing, and the pain left him in a rush of magic, leaving him collapsing to his knees.

“Cloud?” came Tifa’s worried voice, and then there was a screech above them right before the entire building shook, and the roof exploded inward. The hat pulled them back, watching in horror as an obscured monster screamed at them.

“W-wha-“

“It’s about damn time that you showed up, kid,” came the bark from the cloud of dust and debris. “Soon as I could sense you, I started calling for you. Took you long e-fucking-nough!”

“Who are you?” Tifa shouted right back stepping in front of him as he sagged against his staff.

“Call me Cid, damnit,” came the rumbling response, and Cloud watched as the… as the creature shook himself. The cloud of dust was settling now, no longer in a horrible collapse. “Tseng whistled for me.”

He frowned as he saw strong, clawed, purple-feathered legs, the kind that a bird of prey would have, stepping out from the wreckage. Two large, leathery wings gilded with piercings rose from his sides. They were a deep pink, and they merged seamlessly into a strong torso that looked suspiciously masculine. It curved up to a human’s head with golden feathers on the head like hair. _It_ wasn’t wearing anything at all.

“Oh don’t tell me you’re related to Ixion,” Cloud grouched.

“Fucking hell if you’re our goddamn summoner,” came the bite back, and adjusted from where he was leaning on his staff, eyes drooping, exhausted. “Where the hell is that lazy sack of shit who was supposed to help get you ready?”

“You mean Ixion?” Tifa asked, and Cloud closed his eyes, relying on the staff to hold him up as he let his own magic completely empty, Reno appearing in a clap of lightning. He looked around then grinned like a fool.

“Cid! Glad to see you again, buddy.”

“Goddamnit, Reno. Did you not teach him—”

“Why does everyone give me shit for this?”

“Because _that’s what we’re supposed to do!_ ” Cid yelled, feathers on his head, back, and legs puffing up. “Or are you content to look like _that_ until the end of time?”

Reno looked affronted. “Yo, I’ll have you know that I look amazing in this, Highwind.”

“You look like a goddamn whore,” the man growled, looking at the hat that was standing back, trembling with fear. “What the fuck are you staring at, dumbass?”

“Leave him out of this,” Cloud snarled, fighting his exhaustion to plant himself between the two. “It’s you’re fucking fault for all of this.”

“You destroyed his shop!” Tifa chastised.

“You gave me the _worst_ headache,” Cloud snapped at him.

Cid looked bewildered for a few seconds before laughing heartily. “Goddamn. Maybe you didn’t do so bad afterall, Reno. Boy’s gotta fucking mouth on him.”

“ _Reno_ did just fine teaching me what I needed,” Cloud snapped. “You can fuck right off if you don’t like what he did.”

“Aw, is Stormcloud standing up for me?” came the response as the lightning god’s expression turned into one of delight.

“Absolutely not,” Cloud immediately spat back, one of his knees buckling. How was he so exhausted?

“I’m gonna like this boy,” the other god said, shaking his head. He walked over and stuck out the leathery hand that marked the middle of the wing. “Cid Highwind. Ya’ll know me as Valefor.”

“I’d rather not,” Cloud muttered, staring at the hand as if it had a disease. “Fuck you and your headache.”

“Wouldn’t have been so painful if you knew how to let the magic flow.” Cid snorted as he pulled his hand back.

“So you’re the one that Tseng said could take us to… uh… Leviathan’s cave?”

“Best damn flyer in the heavens,” he said, puffing up with pride. “Ain’t never gonna find a better one than me.”

Cloud exhaled, and Tifa caught him as his legs gave way.

“Are you okay, Cloud?” she asked, worried.

“He’s overexerted himself,” Cid said. “Too much magic used. He’s not built himself the reserves that he needs. You’ll need to get him to an Inn.”

“Can’t you carry him?” Tifa asked, frowning. “It’s thanks to you that everything happened.”

“Oh, the townsfolk here hate me,” Cid muttered. “Ain’t nothing good about these shitheads. Kept tryin’ ta get me to lend ‘em the power of wind, so I started crashing their airships. If I take him, they’re gonna turn him out.”

Cloud grunted, feeling the exhaustion weighing him down. Tifa sighed, having him climb on her back. It was a slower process than he would have liked, but he didn’t have the option, really. He wasn’t going to make it to the inn on his own. How was he so tired?

“Get him to an inn, kid. Let him sleep. He’s never done a cold-cast before.” Cid reached out, ruffling his hair and vanishing in a whirlwind.

Reno crossed his arms, sighing heavily. “Why is everyone blaming me? I spent more time protecting him than any of them.”

“Come on, Reno,” Tifa said, turning to walk back in through the shop to get out.

“I’m just sayin’, he didn’t even collapse after the cold-cast. That’s more than a lot of those scrawny other summoners could manage, and _they’re_ the ones that trained the others.”

Reno threw the door open with a dissatisfied huff, stepping out. “I miss Rude. That’s who Cloud needs to visit next. Rude was my best friend, ya know?”

Cloud muttered something unintelligible in response. Tifa was stopped by the hat with a quiet word. It stepped back from them, gesturing to the package on the counter. If only she could see its face, then maybe she could see what it was feeling. She had the feeling it was fear. Especially since summoning was long-gone, and suddenly a kid who can summon the hated bird-demon-god-thing comes in and starts yelling at it.

“Sorry about that. We can come back tomorrow and help you fix it,” she said, feeling Cloud slowly go limp against her.

It shook its head, pointing again. “I… here. The beginner’s package for a monk and a new staff for your friend. Take them and go.”

“Yo, you could show a little more respect to someone who could just as easily kick your ass,” Reno offered out, taking the package and the staff. “For fuck’s sake. He just summoned the god of wind, and you’re treating him like he preemptively killed your wife and children. Come on, Tifa. We don’t need him.”

“Do I really have to walk with you to the inn?” she asked, wincing.

“Look, these clothes were not my choice,” Reno offered. “Just like _Ixion_ is a shitty name for the shitty punishment that they gave us.”

They left the magic shop worker stunned and disquieted at the power that he just witnessed. It shouldn’t be possible! Magic like that, the ability to tame the god of wind that lived for so long at the top of the castle… He scrawled a fast message, moving into the street to find the nearest delivery boy and alert the palace.

So when Cloud woke up the next afternoon, he was surprised to feel a soft bed under his back and a warm blanket over him. He could hear Tifa humming along quietly to a song that her mother taught her. His eyelids felt as if they were made of led, frozen shut with ice, and he couldn’t help the grunt. The whistling stopped, and he felt a hand carding through his hair.

“Are you awake, Cloud?”

It took him a few seconds to respond. What were words again? “Unfortunately,” he croaked. “What the fuck happened?”

“You cold-casted Valefor last night, and between that and calling for me, it wiped you out cold, yo.”

He peeled his eyes open to look and see Tifa standing beside him, looking down, and Reno in a chair beside him. The man-god-thing offered a smirk.

“But you’re also the first summoner to remain standing after a cold cast.”

“What _is_ a cold cast?” Tifa asked, looking up at him.

“When he doesn’t _actually_ know the name of the creature that he’s summoning. In practice, he becomes overwhelmed with memories from the creature, and when it becomes strong enough for him to ascertain what the name is, he calls for it through the memories. Most fiends can’t do it, and neither can animals, but gods can. It wiped out previous summoners before, and the ones that Cid and Rufus trained hit early ends because they couldn’t cold-cast when close enough to a god.”

“Who’s Rufus?”

“He’s a real piece of work. You’ll meet him eventually, I’m sure,” Reno muttered, smiling. “Another good friend of mine.”

“So… is Cloud your first summoner that you… uh… trained?” she asked as she helped Cloud sit up, handing him a plate of food.

Reno shook his head. “But I’m the only one with a summoner _surviving_.”

“Where will we find Rufus?” Cloud asked, slowly coming back to life.

“Dunno. Somewhere after his fifth or sixth attempt, he tried a SOLDIER that Gaia blessed, and… well… that ended really messy. He had to put the summoner down himself and vanished into the fog.”

Cloud grimaced.

“Cloudy-boy here is doing a damn good job,” Reno spoke, addressing Tifa to soothe her concerns. “So I’m not worried. Instead of throwing him into rigorous training, I just taught him how to naturally pull on his magic so that it would be more like a limb than some kind of special power.”

Tifa hummed, sitting on the bed so that she could see the two. “Well… I suppose that we just need to figure out what to do now.”

“Who’s Cid?” Cloud asked, looking at Reno.

“Call for him,” the god said. “I’ll leave to make it easier.”

He vanished in a clap of thunder, and Cloud looked at Tifa. “Where’s my staff?”

She bustled over to the wall, handing him something that was _definitely_ not the one that Tseng gave him. He frowned as he grasped it. It was a sleek wooden staff, aged and carved with a wooden curl at the top.

“What…”

“The man in the magic shop gave it to you.”

He frowned. “Do you think that I can manage to call Cid? He’s not as familiar as Reno, and I still feel like I got run over by a pack of chocobos.”

“Give it a shot?” she murmured.

He grumbled but gripped the staff tighter and closed his eyes. He felt himself reaching out, trying to see if he couldn’t find an area of his mind where a foreign body resided. Sure enough, he could feel the gentle nature of the wind pressurized in the back of his skull, and he frowned. Was this Cid? Ixion—Reno—was more pronounced, an ever-present buzzing of energy.

“Cid,” he commanded, and there was a second before the wind around them picked up, coalescing into winged humanoid.

“Finally felt like callin’ me back, huh?” came the drawl, and he opened his eyes to take him in.

“You’re Cid?” he asked, and the humanoid laughed.

“You already forgot me?”

“He doesn’t remember last night.”

“Not surprising. You were pretty dead on your feet after cold-casting.”

Cloud let out a rumble, his eyes at half-mast as he settled against the headboard. Cid laughed again, walking over to the chair and adjusting so that he could sit.

“I think that you’ll do just fine for a summoner,” the god said, and Cloud let out a soft, querulous noise. “You got a fair amount of physical strength, too, which ain’t normal. A good thing.”

He hummed and then blinked when Cid adjusted the chair again to account for his awkward legs. Silence settled over them, and Cloud slowly drifted off to sleep while Tifa and Cid talked in low tones. He jerked awake to the sound of multiple loud voices, then a loud screech before he heard things crashing around. He sat up, blinking at the room. Tifa was standing beside him, ready to fight, and Cid was standing between them and the rest of the room, wings spread wide. There were men staggering to get up, their weapons scattered all over the room.

“I told you not to fucking draw your weapons, ya fuckwits.” Cid looked over his shoulder. “Morning, Chocobo Head.”

“Wha’s…” he said, still mildly confused. There were people? Why were there people?

One of the men was standing now, a little more decorated and looking disgruntled. “Your presence is required—”

“Did you damn idiots not hear me?” Cid snapped. “Or do you want to be subject to a tornado instead?”

The man grimaced, glaring at the god. “Your presence is… _requested_ at the palace by the royal family.”

“Who?” Cloud asked, looking at Tifa.

“Ah… they technically rule this area. King Heidegger and his Queen Scarlet with their Royal Advisor Hojo,” she said. “I was in the middle of learning proper etiquette for the courts when we left. You can’t refuse a summons from the King or Queen.”

“Or what?” Cloud asked, frowning.

“It can be anything up to the penalty of death, I think that they said.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow, then looked at the men. “Do they honestly think that they could take me?”

Cid threw his head back in laughter. “Now that’s the spirit! By the time that you’re done with your journey, they’ll be groveling at your damn feet!”

Cloud grunted, closing his eyes for a few more seconds before sighing. “Might as well go visit. Not like we have anything better to do, right?”

“You could always go get Genesis,” Cid said.

Cloud waved a dismissive hand. “He’ll still be there in a little bit. I’ve never been inside the palace. I kinda wanna see what it’s like.”

The men all looked relieved that he was agreeing to go, that they wouldn’t need to attempt force. Cloud hummed.

“Though I don’t know if I can walk there. Calling you took most of what little I had left.”

“We have a chocobo cart outside,” the man said, the one that Cloud thought was in charge.

Cloud met his gaze for a few seconds, then nodded. “All right.”

He was helped down to the cart, taking a few moments to smile softly at the chocobos that warbled happily in greeting and demanded a few pets. Cid seated himself beside them, looking surprisingly nonchalant for wanting a fight. He dozed off on the ride there, asleep curled into Cid’s side as they plodded along. When it came to a halt, he jerked awake. He let out a jaw-cracking yawn as he was shuffled out of the cart into the grand foyer, but he didn’t have time to look at it before he was being shuffled off. He wanted to enjoy it, honestly, but it seemed a bit excessive to be hurrying him along to meet with these guys. He just trudged along to the throne room, Cid walking behind him, about ready to destroy something if they even so much as looked at him wrong.

When they arrived at the throne room, he managed to pull himself together a little bit more and rub his eyes. There was an ornate pair of chairs sitting at the end of the room with two obscenely overdecorated people and a really creepy man standing beside them. Gorgeous tapestries lined the walls, and there were vases and shields and weapons of all kinds for decorations. A handful of just as ridiculously-dressed people were standing at the edges, as if they were having some form of gathering like the council back home. Part of him wanted to tell Cid to blast them all into the wall. The chuckle from beside him let him know that the god of wind heard that command. He looked when he saw Tifa moving, but Cid placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t. You. Dare.”

“Huh?” Tifa asked.

“Don’t you dare bow to these idiots,” Cid said. “Hell, if Genesis finds out that you got down on any number knees, he’s gonna rip your head off.”

“Glad to see that you’re still as ornery as ever,” came the response.

“Glad to see that you’re still as stupid as ever,” came Cid’s response, a hand on both Cloud and Tifa, who were watching with confusion.

“Destroying our aircraft isn’t enough?” the king snapped, rising from his seat.

“Ya’ll ain’t worth having these two bowing to you. Specially not with his power.”

There was a frustrated grunt from the king before the queen rose and placed a hand on his arm. That got him to sit down, and she remained standing, approaching them. Cloud had his hand in his pocket, running his thumb back and forth over the pebble.

“It’s a pleasure. We heard about what you managed to do to our materia shop,” she said, looking directly at Cloud.

Cloud scowled. “Look, I didn’t mean to, all right?”

The queen laughed. “Not at all, young man. As a matter of fact, we’re quite impressed.”

“I’m not helping you,” he said, scowl deepening. “Whatever you’re implying.”

She laughed again. “No, no. It’s okay. We wanted to invite you to stay here at the castle while you prepare for the next phase of your journey.”

His eyes slid to the creepy man standing by the throne with the fuming king. “If you try to kidnap me or Tifa, Cid will eat your heart if Tseng doesn’t kill you first.”

“Tseng?” she asked, cocking her head.

“Shiva,” he corrected.

“Oh! The god of ice?”

“Look, pumpkin,” Cid said, pulling the two behind him.

Cloud tuned them out, realizing that this was no longer his conversation, letting him and Tifa handle the talking as he looked around. He blinked when he saw Yuffie standing beside a man dressed in dark armor with a nasty looking sword on his back. He met red eyes with a quizzical look, and the man raised an eyebrow. The ninja stood on her tip toes to whisper something in his ear when he leaned over. He didn’t break eye contact.

“—oud. Cloud!”

He jumped, looking back at Tifa, who rolled her eyes. “Cloud, can you call forth Shiva for us?”

He let out a disgruntled noise, glaring at the royalty on the throne. What made them so good anyway? He waved a hand, dismissing Cid from their presence in a puff of air. Probably better the god-beast wouldn’t be around. He really didn’t seem to like these guys. Pulling his staff from his back, he rested it on the ground.

“Tseng!”

A freezing blast of cold air and ice filled the room before transforming into the ice god. He landed on an elegant step and settled in front of Cloud. He was quiet for a few seconds before he sighed.

“Ah, human royalty,” he said, then bowed at the waist. “Greetings. I am Lord Shiva, god of ice.”

“How _fascinating_ ,” came the murmured response from the creepy guy by the thrones, scribbling something down on a notepad. “A _summoner_ , here in our lands…”

“It’s a pleasure, Lord Shiva,” came the queen’s response as she walked back to the throne and sat. “You’re already much more polite than your feathered friend.”

Tseng blinked. “Ah… Ci—Valefor, yes? I didn’t realize that you had him on your side already, Cloud.”

“That disrespectful _brute_ —”

“I do not care what he did. How he behaves is his own,” Tseng said. “However, I am afraid that we will not be staying long here. We have business within the volcano.”

“And just how are you going to do that?” Heidegger asked, scowling.

“As the god of the ice crystal, soothing the wrath of Ifrit will not be hard,” he said, looking unimpressed.

“Gods, you say?” the creepy man asked, stepping forward.

Tseng narrowed his eyes. “Yes, from your bedtime stories, apparently.”

Cloud looked back to where Yuffie was, only to find her missing. So, she knew the man with red-eyes. He raised an eyebrow, then gestured to the knight, getting all of their attentions.

“We’ll be taking him, too,” he said.

They turned to look at the looming knight, and the creepy man’s expression lit up.

“Wonderful, wonderful!” the man exclaimed before the royalty could say anything. “Of course. The finest dark knight this kingdom has created. Vincent, go with them.”

The man narrowed his eyes at the creepy one. Then, the knight turned back to Cloud and Tifa.

“Why?”

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “You know full well why.”

There was silence, and then Tseng cleared his throat. “Come now. We need to get going. If the knight chooses to join us, we will welcome him. Should he remain, he remains. We, however, need to be moving.”

“Cloud’s still exhausted from Cid yesterday,” Tifa said, frowning. “We’ll never make it through in this state.”

“By all means,” the queen said, “stay the night tonight. Come join us for dinner. We have guest rooms already made up and ready.”

Cloud and Tifa looked at each other. This was sketchy as hell, and they didn’t like the creepy man.

“I will stay with them,” came the response from the knight as he walked over, silent in his armor. When he approached, quiet enough for just the two to hear, he murmured, “I will protect you from Hojo. Yuffie wishes it so.”

The two looked at him, then at each other. They nodded in sync. Tseng watched carefully the whole time, privy to the conversations without intruding. Tseng and the others gave Cloud a better sense of safety anyway.

“Very well,” Shiva said, looking at the royalty. “They will accept a room for tonight, and tomorrow they will set off to the volcano.”

“Please, do visit us again when you get done,” the creepy man—Hojo—said with glee.

The queen gestured. “Vincent, show them to our nicest guest room. We will fetch you for dinner.”

“Actually,” Cloud said, shaking his head. “We’re gonna eat on the town. We saw a few places that we want to try.”

The king went to respond, clearly angry, but was cut off by Hojo. “By all means, go ahead! Go ahead! It’s worth it.”

Vincent narrowed his eyes, sweeping his cape dramatically as he turned to walk out. “Come. Let’s go.”

Despite all of the confusion, Cloud and Tifa stepped out. The hallways were grand and windy, and there was no way that Cloud could keep up with wherever they were. Was it actually safe to stay here? Having Tseng traveling beside him made him feel mildly better. They had approximately one second after they entered a lavish bedroom before the window there was a body hurling out of a closet.

“Hey there, you guys! Glad to see you again!”

They jumped, looking to see Yuffie holding food for them.

“Yuffie!” Tifa exclaimed, laughing. “It’s a pleasure to see you again! Is Vincent here your friend?”

“Yeah,” she said, climbing onto the bed with the food. Tifa was quick to join her, and Cloud followed shortly after. Vincent was taking off his armor, and Cloud could feel himself sinking into the bed. It was the softest thing that he’d ever slept on. His exhaustion was quickly overtaking him.

“He’s gonna come with us. Sorry about Hojo’s weird obsession with Vincent is really fucking weird, but he’s the only dark knight that’s ever survived the process, so…”

Tifa laughed as Yuffie handed her food. Cloud could feel his eyes closing as he settled down onto the large bed, and before she could hand him something to eat, he was out cold, nestled in the blankets and pillows. Oh, he was tired. Too much summoning today. He needed to work on that.

He startled awake the next morning, sitting up with a grunt. Tifa stirred on his left, and Vincent looked up from where he was sitting near the fireplace. Yuffie was still asleep on his right.

“You’re awake.”

“I…” he paused, looking at the man. “Yes.”

“Cloud?”

He looked to see Tifa sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “Tifa.”

She offered him a sleepy smile. “You’re awake. Feeling better?”

He blinked then took a moment to take stock of himself. Then, after furrowing his brow, he hummed. “I think so.”

“Ready for adventure today?”

“The volcano?”

She nodded. He offered a small smile.

“Yeah.”

By the time that they were ready to leave, Cloud was fairly certain that Hojo had, like, materia that recorded their every movement. Expressing such concerns to Vincent was met with a shrug. That didn’t settle him at all. So, when he was standing at the base of the large volcano, he found himself incredibly, _incredibly_ unsettled.

Tseng was by his side with a hand on his shoulder. “Are you ready?”

“I… really…” he looked at the god. “Hojo is…”

“I understand,” came Vincent’s response, and he looked to find the dark knight on his other side. “There are rumors that he is trying to replicate Zodiark so that he might control his power.”

Cloud snorted. “I’m sure that will go well.”

“Come, Cloud. Genesis grows anxious. He can sense my presence,” Tseng said. “Though I will warn you, both you and Tifa.”

The two turned and looked at him.

“The heat within the volcano will be extreme. I can procure another hat for you, Tifa, and I strongly recommend that you wear them. You will be vulnerable to fire, but it will help keep you cool. Your bodies are not adapted to the heat like Miss Kisaragi and her knight.”

“Huh?” Yuffie asked, cocking her head, and Tifa and Cloud looked at each other.

He tightened his robe around him while she slid her pack off and rummaged around for the hat that she took from the cave. Tseng then took her claws and iced them over, nodding in approval.

“There. I believe that you are ready to face the cavern.”

“Yuffie and I will take the front in battle,” Vincent spoke, and they looked at him.

“To minimize the amount of damage that you’ll take, since you’re susceptible to fire!” Yuffie finished, hands on her hips, looking proud of herself. “Come on! Let’s go!”

She led them to the entrance halfway up the mountain, Tseng vanishing when they got closer with an explicit command to summon him if needed. It was sealed over with volcanic glass, formidable and daunting. It didn’t, however, hold up to a punch or three from Tifa. He nodded at her, and she grinned back at him. The two stayed back a bit, letting Vincent and Yuffie take the lead, and it wasn’t too much longer before there was a maliciously smiling ball popping up in front of them. He stepped back, surprised.

“What is that?” he asked.

“A bomb,” Yuffie said, beaming, but before they could do anything, Tifa launched herself forward, the icy claws leaving a deep gash up its front.

It screamed and started to swell, and Tifa stumbled back, surprised. “It grew!”

“That’s the specialty of bombs!” Yuffie chirped, just before it was engulfed in darkness.

With a shriek, it fell to the floor of the cave, and Cloud crept closer to look at it. He blinked as he looked at it. Vincent looked at them when they looked at it. The two were poking at the body as it disintegrated.

“I take it that you don’t have those things up in the north?” Yuffie asked, hand on her hip and watching them.

“Nope. We have wolves and chimera and sentient piles of ice,” Tifa said.

“And Trickster,” Cloud supplied.

“And Ixion, if we’re going that route.”

“Should we summon Ixion?” Cloud asked, looking at Tifa.

She hummed thoughtfully. “That might not be a bad idea, actually. Why not Tseng?”

“I think that it may be too hot for him,” Cloud said, frowning. “He told me to call him only when needed.”

She hummed, pulling him over to where the other two were preparing to go farther into the volcano. It turned out that summoning Tseng one-and-done was much more effective than keeping Ixion out for prolonged lengths of time. God or no, none of the creatures enjoyed being encased in ice and imploded. It definitely took a toll on him, though, leaving him feeling tired as they fought their way through burning slugs and bombs, living fire and large clumps of molten rock. There were one-eyed monsters that flew just when they thought that things were calming down, and those came with demonish birds that were perpetually aflame.

When they finally reached an area to settle down for a rest, exhausted, sweaty, and filthy, there was a singular bomb floating around, happily bobbing. Tifa already had her hands up for a fight when it noticed them and rushed over to engage, but Cloud…

Honestly, he was sick of the fighting right now. He needed a break.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, making her look at him while the other two drew their weapons. “Lemme try.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, though she was already stepping back.

He turned to look at the bomb, locking eyes with it. Carefully, he stepped in front of Vincent and Yuffie, and Tifa called them back.

If he was really a “summoner,” then surely…

Surely…

He held a hand out to the solitary bomb. It was a bit of an anomaly to be alone, given that the others always seemed to be in pods of three or four, or some mix of fiends, so he wondered if maybe… maybe… The bomb didn’t flinch away or attack, instead watching warily. He took another step forward.

“You wanna come along?” he asked, cocking his head.

The bomb bobbed violently, spinning in circles as if to cast a fire spell. He didn’t flinch, standing before it with one hand out.

“It’s better than being alone,” he said softly.

The bomb looked at the others with a crazy gleam, then spun in a circle several times before flitting forward just enough to chomp down on Cloud’s hand and send an explosive feeling bubbling through his blood as it disappeared. He curled his fingers inward, numb to the injury while the blood welled in his hand.

“Cloud! Are you okay?” she asked, running up to him.

Before she could take his hand, though, he pulled his staff out and focused. “ _Bomb_.”

In a shrieking cloud of ash and fire, the bomb appeared before them, cackling as it started to bob around the area. Tifa looked surprised, blinking at it, then turning back to his hand.

“Cloud, you’re injured.”

“We have a bomb now,” he said, watching it as she fussed with a potion.

“You’re _injured_.”

“So can I touch it?” came Yuffie’s call, and he watched her dance over to poke it curiously, making it roll about as it floated, making her laugh.

Vincent stood silently, watching it all, and it was Yuffie that eventually pulled out a little packet, ripping it open and causing a tent to spring forth. She moved over to them, the bomb following behind her as if they were playing a game. She grinned.

“All right,” she said. “I can tell that Cloud is getting tired, so we can rest here for a while he naps. It wouldn’t be bad—surely we’re close to the crystal chamber.”

“How long have been wandering?” Tifa asked, frowning.

“Long enough,” she said, pushing slightly to move Cloud toward the tent. “Go sleep. You’re the important one here. We’ll keep guard, fix a meal, and doze off if we need to, okay?”

Cloud frowned, looking at Tifa, who shrugged. He didn’t really register anything that he did until he was having a bowl of… something… pushed into his hands to eat while they packed up. He knew vaguely that he slept, but that was about the only thing that he knew. He had to admit: the nap did him well. It may have been uncomfortably hot, but his own exhaustion easily overthrew any discomfort he might have had. He might have considerable reserves of strength from training like a monk, but his magic reserves were not so vast.

So he wolfed down whatever they gave him, then stretched as Tifa packed it all away.

“The crystal should be within the next chamber,” Vincent said. “I know not what we’ll find, but the crystal resides there.”

“How do you know?” Tifa asked, and Cloud looked at him.

“He’s done this patrol before, really. It keeps getting resealed with glass, though, so he doesn’t come up here too much. Doesn’t want other people like Hojo getting in here.”

Cloud nodded in solidarity. “Then let’s go.”

They walked to the entrance, and Tifa took Cloud’s hand, squeezing it gently.

“Come on, Cloud. We’ve got this.”

He hummed, pulling her through into the room. The crystal chamber was open and filled with the sounds of bubbling, roiling magma. He walked to the edge, looking down and down and _down_ , staring at the liquid rock that oozed at the bottom of the chamber. It was almost terrifying to know that if he fell, he would burn to a crisp. After a few seconds of staring, and he felt Tifa squeeze his hand again, and he looked to see her gesturing to the path. It curved up and up and _up,_ a spiral dirt path jutting out of the wall leading up a large platform. At the edge of the platform stood the crystal, looking every ounce as fiery and violent as he would have imagined.

“Holy crap! Look at that crystal! _That’s_ what it looks like?”

He glanced over to see Yuffie and Vincent staring up, already a ways away.

“Don’t touch it, Yuffie,” Vincent said. “It will burn you alive if you do.”

Yuffie huffed. “Why?”

“Because of people like Hojo, who would take its power for the wrong reasons.”

Cloud started up the incline with Tifa in tow, and they trotted up together. He was glad for his physical training within the group at Nibelhiem, otherwise he’d be huffing for breath. The entire room shimmered with heat, casting odd shadows and bringing things to life that weren’t actually probably alive. There were no monsters, nothing else in the chamber outside of them. When they finally hit the top of the incline, Cloud moved toward it almost instinctively, drawn in by its beauty, reaching out and pausing right before he set his hand on it. He looked back at Tifa who grinned and nodded.

He set his hand on the crystal and closed his eyes when it exploded, engulfing him in flame. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in room with magma floors, rich, black glass beneath his feet and leading to a plush and lavish chair. Sitting on the chair, one leg draped over the other, arms on the rest and giving him one of the most intense gazes that he’d ever been subject to, was the god of fire. Cloud straightened a bit, taking him in for a moment.

Unlike the others, who had plenty… decoration, he was dressed in a pair of tattered shorts, thick legs turning into red-furred goat’s legs with hooves as his feet. His arms were blackened, ending in long, sharpened claws, and it faded into a rich, red skin on the torso, climbing up his neck and dissolving into eyes of living flame, hair that danced with an ethereal shimmer, shaggy and beautiful. Two thick, black horns curled around down over his ears. The god pushed himself up, and the sheer amount of grace that he moved with would normally have Cloud mildly intimidated. Instead, it only further fueled his irritation. This was going to be an even more irritating version of Ixion, wasn’t it? He held the god’s gaze while the man stalked toward him, the hooves making surprisingly little noise on the glass. He stopped before him, hand on his hip, looking down at him, making Cloud snarl.

“Finally,” came the smooth voice, those eyes looking him over closely. “I was beginning to think that the others were completely inept at protecting anything.”

That startled him into snorting. “Then you’ll probably be surprised to hear that it was Ixion—Reno—who took care of me.”

The man’s eyes widened marginally, and a heavy, clawed hand came to rest on his shoulder. A wry smile pull itself across the god’s lips.

“I see,” came the amused response. “My little chocobo, I look forward to traveling with you. Tell me, who all is with you currently?”

Cloud blinked, then raised an eyebrow. “Tseng, Ixio-Reno, and Cid.”

The god-goat-thing hummed, the other clawed hand tapping gently on his chin in thought. “I suppose that it’s time to go rescue Angeal. It has been… quite a long time.”

There was just a trace of sadness that flashed across his expression, and Cloud wondered how good of friends all the gods were. He waited silently for whatever the god had to say next. This was Ifrit, wasn’t it? No, Genesis? It was Genesis. Genesis was Ifrit.

“Tseng said that I would never get to him if I didn’t have you on my side, so after we all regroup, then we can roll out whenever.”

That seemed to put a bit more fire into the god.

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” came the purr, and Cloud blinked as the world around him burst into violent flame, surrounding him in a tornado, and he stepped closer to the god in his surprise before watching as the flame burned out into the throne room.

“It’s been a long time since I bothered to look at the human world,” Genesis said, humming quietly as he looked around. “Summon Shiva, if you would, my little chocobo.”

“My name is _Cloud_ , you ass,” he snapped, slamming his staff against the floor. “Tseng!”

There was a swirl of ice, and he only just realized that the entire room was abuzz with excitement.

“Cloud!” came the worried cry, and he had two seconds before Tifa was pulling him into a hug. “What the hell happened?”

“I met Genesis,” he said dryly, noticing that Yuffie and Vincent seemed to be reorienting themselves from the sudden transportation.

He gestured, and Tifa looked around him to gasp quietly at the gods that were standing there, talking quietly to each other. He saw the king rise, irritated, and Tseng hardly spared a glance before waving his hand and having ice crawl over the man’s mouth to keep him silent. It was almost entertaining. He was clearly someone who was used to getting his way all the time, hating the idea of being ignored for any reason.

“I am surprised that Ifrit so easily agreed to come along,” Vincent said, watching the gods curiously.

Cloud shrugged. “I think that he misses… Angeal? I think that’s what he called him.”

“Who is that?” Yuffie asked.

Cloud shrugged again. “I don’t know, but I also don’t know how long we’ll have before we have to leave again—”

“Cloud,” came the voice of Tseng, and he turned to look at them. “You will be making this next journey with Genesis alone. Cid will take you to the cave, but it will be only you who ventures into the cave of Leviathan.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Why?”

Genesis rolled his eyes. “Because _I_ want to see if you’re worth your weight as a summoner, so we’ll be making the next leg alone so that I can see what you’re made of.”

Cloud frowned. “But—”

“As for your friends,” Genesis continued, turning to look at the King and the Queen, “Rulers of these lands, who I have blessed with fertile soil and prosperity, who I have protected from the evils of the world beyond with the wall, I am taking this chocobo. You are to care for these three children who will remain, and you _will_ give them the best that you have. Failure to comply to my demands, and I will be forced to replace you. It has been a long time since my volcano erupted, and now that I am out of my crystal, I wish nothing more than to flex my magic again. Are we understood?”

The ice melted from the king’s mouth to give him a chance to respond. With neither of the rulers responding, instead eying the god with trepidation, Hojo stepped forward, looking manically at them. He had a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other.

“Of course! We’ll put them up in the best rooms that we have. They will be as royalty, equal among our halls, Lord Ifrit.”

There was a pause, and he watched Genesis raise an eyebrow. “I’m not sure how much I trust the creep talking,” he muttered, looking at Tifa, who broke into a fit of giggles, and Cloud, who tried to hide his smile by looking away.

“I have lived here my whole life,” Vincent responded, garnering Genesis’s attention. “I will protect them should anything happen.”

Genesis cocked his head, eyeing him closely. Then, after coming to some kind of conclusion mentally, he nodded. “Very well. Tseng, we will continue our conversations when I get back. Cloud, summon Cid so that he can fly you where you need to go.”

“Wait, now?” he asked, looking mildly perplexed.

“Of course now. There’s no time like the present, and I have faith in your knight’s skill… enough to leave them with the castle for a few days.” He waved a hand dismissively. “Even if he couldn’t, I would love nothing more than to destroy this area after residing beside it for so long.”

“Hold your wrath until it is deserved,” Tseng said before vanishing in a swirl of ice.

Genesis clapped. “Come now. Summon Cid. Let us be off before I have to spend any more time in their presence.”

Cloud looked at Tifa, who seemed mildly bewildered, but shrugged her shoulders. “Go… I guess? We’ll be here when you get back, I suppose. Do you have food and canteens for the trip?”

Cloud frowned, only to have Yuffie toss him her backpack. “Here! This has food in it and a few basic medical supplies! Doesn’t have a bedroll, but I don’t think that Ifrit here will let you sleep.”

Cloud snorted.

“It also has some gil if you need it, and a few canteens that you can fill for drinking—”

“He’s not going to be gone _that_ long,” Genesis interrupted, and Cloud swore that he could see the eager energy vibrating off the god. “Not unless he’s so inept that he should have died a long time ago.”

“How long are we talking if I turn out to be as competent as you can hope for?” Cloud asked, frowning.

“A day or so. It will mostly be flying. Angeal is situated quite a ways away, at the edge of the sea. His fog is what put the world to sleep. Once we get him stirring, the rest of the world will follow.”

Cloud nodded, then looked at the other three. The king and the queen were mostly forgotten about, he and his friends more concerned with the pressing matters at hand. Tifa gave him an encouraging smile and a nod.

“No time for dilly-dallying,” she said. “You have a god to save!”

He looked at Genesis, who raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

He took his staff, set it against the ground, and called, “Cid!”

There was a whirlwind that had them all bracing themselves to withstand it (and the king and the queen were quite rumpled), the curtains ripping from the wall and the undoubtedly expensive decorations falling onto the floor and shattering into pieces. He heard Genesis laugh before Cid popped up beside him.

“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Finally out of your chains, Genesis?” He looked him over. “Gotta say they really did a number on you.”

Genesis offered a charming smile. “I consider it all the more reason to rip them from the sky and leave them in ruins. Once I can have my proper wardrobe back, the better.”

Cid nodded, then looked at Cloud. “Ready, kid? Hop on my back.”

Cloud hesitated, then did as he was told. Cid spread his wings, and before he could register (or even, really, get less uncomfortable), he was out the balcony and in the air. He gripped tightly as they climbed into the sky, up and up, until the castle was small beneath them, and he could see the land beyond the wall. He was stunned, looking at all of the rolling green fog as they started moving toward their destination. Is this truly what happened? The green stretched out in front of him forever, an endless sea of sleeping fog. He’d never seen what lay beyond the wall. Had the SOLDIERs seen it from this vantage point?

As the night faded into day, he realized that they weren’t stopping. Wait… it registered then that they took the entire day in that volcano. How did it take them that long? Did he sleep longer than he thought that he had? It was almost morning, and he… his nap was the only sleep that he’d gotten. Were the others sleeping? Had they gotten to bed after he left? How long were they flying?

He noticed that the wall was miniscule behind them, adjusting to sit a little more easily on the bird-man-god’s back. There was no way that they were going to stop until they got there. He bunkered down against the feathers on his back, peering out at the endless curling of the magic beneath him. It was almost enough to lull him into sleep between the feel of air rushing over him and the mesmerizing way that the fog twisted with magic. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to be a summoner… especially if it afforded him freedoms like this. No one else that he knew of was capable of using the sky for transportation. There were no flying ships like in the stories.

He jumped when he felt Genesis materialize out of nowhere, pressed against his back.

“Are you ready, Cid?”

“Got a hold on the kid?” he barked back.

“Hold your breath, Cloud.”

It was the only warning that he got before they were nosediving down, faster and faster, and he found himself shaking in between the bodies of the gods.

“Breath in!” Genesis commanded, and he took a deep breath, watching as they dove into the green fog, and farther down, and something writhing beneath them.

It was then that they slammed into water, and Cloud found his breath leaving him in a panicked rush. Salt water filled his mouth, and he struggled between the two gods as he found himself choking. The water was eerily silent, and he found himself panicking as the frantic beat of his own heart pounded loudly in his ears, and he couldn’t hear what Genesis was saying. His head was dizzy, and he couldn’t stop the water from rushing into him. Just when his vision started going back, he was ripped up from the water, and he started hacking as he was thrown onto land.

There was a hand on his back, a tired, “I told you to hold your breath,” and then he was throwing up saltwater that managed to rush in, and he was shivering in his robes, and that was _miserable_. He didn’t stop shaking until he felt a warmth spread throughout him, leaving his clothes dried and his body temperature no longer so askew. His hacking slowly came to a stop, and he took a few moments to simply catch his breath.

The first thing that he did was glare at the god of fire, still looking so immaculate and pristine.

“ _What the hell_ ,” he rasped out, attempting to snarl.

Genesis rolled his eyes. “Oh, quiet. You survived. We had to dive below the sea to reach Angeal’s lair. You don’t honestly think that the god of water would be anywhere else, do you?”

“I expected more of a warning than, ‘Breath in!’” he barked, his voice breaking halfway through.

“So dramatic,” he said with a tut as he rose to loom over him. “Honestly, I was expecting it to kill you. Seems as if Reno has done a better job than I thought.”

“So you’re _trying_ to kill me?” he rasped, flopping onto his butt and giving him an incredulous, pissed-off look. “What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?”

Genesis dusted himself off as if he were dirty. “Well, if you couldn’t handle _this_ , I don’t expect that you’d be able to handle a direct attack against the elder council. Consider it a test. You’ve passed. Does the rest of it matter?”

“You are on my fucking shit list,” Cloud muttered, closing his eyes and cradling his head in his hands. “Fuck you. I’m going to tell Angeal.”

There was a pause, and he turned his head to look at the god, who looked mildly startled. In a flash, the emotion was gone, but it was too late. Cloud caught the scent of blood. He smirked as Genesis tried to brush it off.

“Go ahead. See what I care.”

“I will. I’ll make sure to tell him just how you enjoyed trying to drown me and how you hardly gave me any warning at all.”

Genesis’s fur and hair flared in anger. “Do that, and I will torch you.”

He gave a catty smirk as he rose slowly, still shaking. “Go ahead. Make my day.”

The fire god snarled and disappeared in a flash of fire. Ah, well, at least he didn’t have to suffer through the man’s company while he wandered. Would he truly be able to make it down here? He looked around, noticing small little patches of bioluminescent algae. The floor was solid, but there were lots of dips and divots where water gathered. It smelled of the sea, and there was an uncanny stillness to the cave. No fog here, but the same sort of silence that fell at night when people slept. He frowned, then managed to pull his staff off an tapped it.

“Bomb,” he commanded, pleased when the bobbing whirl of fiery energy appeared, casting light over everything and illuminating a bit better than the algae.

He set off into the eerie cave. There was no way that he was going alone, and it helped when he had the bomb by his side. There was nothing, really, to see, nothing like the fire of Genesis’s volcano. Occasionally, a fiend was asleep, curled up and peaceful as he crept closer to look at it. Nothing stirred. Everything slept. Down and down and down they went, farther into the darkness, avoiding puddles and cautiously wandering by bomblight. Did it ever end?

After some undetermined time of wandering, he heard his stomach growl, and he frowned, staring at his stomach as if it personally offended him. The bomb stopped, bobbing around as he took off the backpack and rummaged through it. Surely there was something that he could eat in there. Yuffie said that there was. The bag itself was dry, and he found himself wondering if Genesis dried it all. After a few moments of digging, he found a small bag of what appeared to be jerky and dried fruit.

Sitting down, he leaned against the damp wall, giving himself a chance to eat. When the bomb appeared bored, he dismissed it to give himself a little time to refocus and eat. He didn’t notice the light appearing at the end of the hall until it was about halfway to him. With a frown, he let himself chew on a piece of jerky. Did he have reason to be concerned? Perhaps. Genesis seemed keen on killing him. The light swayed as it approached, and he realized that it was a lantern. Perhaps a guard. Maybe if he feigned sleep?

Bright yellow eyes appeared unblinkingly behind the light. A soft tapping of dragging shoes on the dirt echoed in the quiet hallways. He could eventually see the outline of a small creature with a round head and a fishy tail sticking out of a burlap-esque, hooded cloak. In one hand, it had a chef’s knife, and in the other, a small red lantern. It was maybe two feet tall, with bright yellow eyes and brown shoes. It had a slow pace toward him, and he met its gaze as it continued to approach.

It didn’t seem hostile. He could be wrong.

He offered out a dried fruit slice when it got close enough to light up their little area. It paused, looking down at the offering, then stretched the knife forward. He stuck it on the end, and the creature brought it to where its mouth would be. The fruit slowly disappeared.

He offered it a bit of jerky. It seemed to like that an awful lot.

So he ate in silence with his new friend, eventually devouring the small bag of food. When it was empty, he blinked, sticking his hand into the sack and feeling around with a frown. The creature paced forward, poking him incredibly delicately with the knife.

“Sorry,” he said, turning it inside out and showing it. “It’s empty.”

There was a pause, and then the creature looked up, meeting his gaze again. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but a silent understanding seemed to pass between them.

“Do you want to walk with me?” he asked. “I can carry you if you’d like.”

It waggled its lantern.

“Yes?”

He chuckled quietly when it seemed to agree. He rose slowly, tucking the empty bag back into his pack. Then, crouching down, he offered his arms out to the thing. It slowly moved into his hold, and he picked it up. It held its lantern out.

“You don’t happen to know where the water crystal is,” he said, and there was a brief pause before the knife thrust forward, pointing.

Cloud blinked.

He found himself starting to walk off in the direction that the creature was pointing. The endless darkness seemed to surround them, the algae gone. He saw one or two more of the little creatures, both of which paused and looked at them, watching them walk by. He offered a small wave to them before turning back to continue his walking. The two of them ended up wandering for a while, farther and farther into the darkness, until they ended up emerging in a room where there was a waterfall flowing down into a large lake. Cloud stood at the edge, overlooking the crystalline waters, and over, in the middle of the lake, was a large crystal that seemed to be made of water. It was beautiful.

He hummed. Perhaps he could summon Tseng to freeze a path to the crystal, but what was it? Genesis wanted him to do it on his own—more than likely without the power of the gods. He should probably swim to the crystal, but he didn’t like that idea. _He couldn’t swim_. He looked at the creature. It was a longshot, but there was a chance that it could help. After all, it managed to lead him here. There was no harm in asking, right? Especially since Genesis was an ass and would probably not help him if he used the others gods.

“Any advice?” he asked, and it turned to look at him, blinking at him.

He looked at the pool again, frowning as he tried to judge how deep it was. The creature in his arms simply blinked at him, and he looked about. Was there anything that he could to do check the depth? Grimacing, he realized that swimming may be his only option. He didn’t like that. It was just chilly enough down here that he would freeze. He pulled his staff out after adjusting the critter to be in one arm and tapped it against the ground.

“Trickster!”

There was a warble, and then the bird came charging up behind him, skidding to a halt by the water’s edge. He smiled at him, then gestured.

“Can you swim?”

The chocobo warbled happily, swaying back and forth, and then knelt down. Cloud hesitantly climbed on Trickster’s back, holding tightly to his companion, and then gripped the bird with his knees when it stood. It was careful, wading out halfway to the crystal before it appeared to need to swim. Cloud held on for dear life as he watched the water turn into a darker and darker blue, indicating deeper and deeper waters, and oh, _oh_ , that made his stomach clench unhappily. That food might be coming back up before too long.

Still, Trickster seemed to be a competent enough swimmer, long, slow strokes of its legs that left him baffled by the bird. How was this even possible? Was there anything that a chocobo _couldn’t_ do? Well… maybe not fly, but how it was swimming was beyond his wildest imagination. His stomach lurched again at a particularly violent kick in the water, and he closed his eyes, tucking his face against the smooth green skin of his friend. He tried not to pay attention to anything until there was a soft “Kweh” and the nibbling of his robe. He pried an eye open and saw the crystal, slapping it hard as he closed his eyes again and waited for the rush to his lair subside.

Even then, he didn’t open his eyes when he felt the world settle down.

“Are you… okay?” came the warm voice, and Cloud found himself curling in a bit tighter around his new friend. “You’re shaking. Deep breath, kiddo.”

There was a presence by his side and a large, warm hand on his shoulder.

“Deep breath… time to calm down. You’re safe here.”

Eventually, he opened his eyes. He was greeted to fathomless blue eyes that looked concerned for him. He slowly unfurled, glancing around.

“Is this…” he paused, then met the man’s gaze. “Are you… Angeal?”

“Yes,” came the soft response. “And you must be the new summoner.”

A gentle smile graced his features, and Cloud let himself study him. He had a mouth full of sharp teeth, two feelers coming off either side of his mouth, large, blue fins where ears should be. His skin was pale with green and blue swathes of colors blending throughout. His fingers were webbed, and so were his toes, all of them clawed. A large fin rose from the base of his neck to all the way down to the top of his butt.

“Cloud Strife.”

Angeal’s smile made him feel a little better. “It’s a pleasure, Cloud.”

A pause. “I can’t swim, and I get sick on the water.”

The god looked briefly stunned, then looked mildly worried. “I apologize. We’re never sure what the summoner will be like.”

He was wearing a large, fanning necklace of intricate gold draped over his shoulders and upper chest, shimmering with deep blue and green gems. He had golden cuffs that covered the bottom half of his arms, dazzling golden chains linked between them and the rings that he had on his thumb and middle fingers. His pants were pretty much see-through, a baggy, shimmery material that showed the strong legs of a swimmer, leaving him largely in just a pair of pretty underwear.

“Genesis told me that most of them don’t survive—”

“Genesis is with you?” the god asked, perking up.

Cloud smiled gently. “Your friend?”

“Yes. We were born at the same time,” he said, sitting on the floor in front of him. “I haven’t seen him in a long, long time.”

“He tried to drown me,” he scowled. “Had me hold onto Cid and then dive-bombed the ocean and threatened to kill me when I didn’t kiss his hooves for choking on the sea water.”

Angeal frowned. “I apologize. I will make sure that the next time that we go near water, you will be appropriately prepared.”

Cloud looked down at the monster in his arms. “It’s empty here.”

“Genesis didn’t stay by you?” the god asked, frowning.

Cloud shook his head. “He wanted me to do it on my own. His only part was helping me drown when Cid went underwater to reach your cave.”

That had Angeal looking mildly irritated, trying hard not to show it too much. “Well… you were in no better hands than my tonberry here.”

“Tonberry?” he parroted.

“They were designed to protect me from anything that would try to get in to harm my prison.”

He looked down at it. “Huh...”

Angeal chuckled. “You must be a summoner for it to submit so willingly to being carried.”

“Fucker demanded it,” he responded dryly.

The god snorted. “Well… I suppose that it could be worse. They’re not normally so… cuddly. You must be a good one to have them so complacent so quickly.”

“Can he come with me?” Cloud asked.

Angeal nodded. “Of course. Consider it a gift.” The god rose. “Now, would you like to get out of here? I have enough residual power to get us back to the castle, and if we spend a day or two here, I’ll be back to full strength as a summon for you.”

Cloud nodded, taking the hand that was offered to be pulled up.

“Time to get going, little one,” Angeal said, looking at the tonberry.

It looked back at him, then to Cloud, and the summoner looked down at the critter in his arms. It pointed its knife at Angeal, then shook its lantern at the other man. In a rush, it vanished, sending a rush up his arms with a dark and serious power, the kind that promised a slow demise. He blinked, then looked when the webbed hand extended to him.

“Very well. Let’s go. I’m sure that the world is starting to wake now that I am no longer maintaining the sleeping spell. It will give us a chance to rest before we seek out Rude.”

“Ah…” Cloud paused, then took his hand. “That… sounds good.”


End file.
